A Half-Quest for Half-Bloods
by letmeoutwritenow
Summary: Nico wondered how he got stuck with this, but he supposed it was better than being turned into a dandelion in front of your father.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Nico wondered how he got stuck with this quest—if you could even call it that—but he supposed it's better than being turned into a dandelion in front of your father.**

**A/N: I'm not sure how long this is going to be yet; hopefully not pathetically short or unbearably long. It'll focus on Katie and Travis, with Nico and more characters, set after TLO but before TLH. Reviews would be appreciated!**

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><p>CHAPTER ONE<p>

For the first time in her life, Katie was jealous of Cabin Eleven.

She never thought she would look at the Hermes (and unclaimed) kids and want what they had. Cramped space, constant noise, worrying about the Stoll brothers filling your sleeping bag with whipped cream; that did _not_ appeal to Katie, and she was sure she wasn't the only one.

But then after Percy made a deal with the gods to claim their demigod children by the time they were thirteen, Cabin Eleven changed. Over half of its occupants went to go live in their real cabin, and the Stoll brothers took it upon themselves to throw everyone who left a small going away party. The cabin now had much more space and wasn't obnoxiously loud, and Connor and Travis both had decided it was too soon to begin their pranks again.

On the last day of summer, Katie entered Cabin Four. It was usually custom for her to yell at Travis to quiet down along the way, but he'd actually been helping someone, and it wasn't to assist with a prank. Katie had been shocked to see her arch-nemesis carrying a young boy's bag as he walked over to his godly parent's cabin.

"Hey, Katie," Miranda greeted. She was zipping up a large duffel bag.

"You're going home?" Katie said in reply. Miranda was usually a year-round camper, like Katie herself.

Miranda nodded. "The battle made me think," she explained. "My stupid little problems with my stepmom aren't that bad. I'll go home to Georgia. I'll visit over Thanksgiving break, I promise." She gave Katie a quick hug before running out of the cabin, not wanting to be caught by the harpies.

Katie sighed and sat on her twin-size bed. She absentmindedly stroked the small cactus plant on her bedside table when she realized that she was currently the only member of Cabin Four; all of her siblings were going home for the fall.

Outside her cabin, Katie saw through the window the Hermes kids, led by Travis and Connor, skipping and running toward the fields, jokingly pushing each other around, shouting something about canoe races. For a fleeting moment, she wished she could be there with them, but then she remembered that _Travis_ was there. Her arch-nemesis was someone she would never willingly go hang out with.

She gazed sadly at her cactus, and then at the other plant life scattered around the room. "Looks like it's just you and me, plants," she said. Then she shook her head. How pathetic was she?

Ω

"Good evening, campers," Chiron rumbled. Travis noticed that the old centaur seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood; probably no one had gotten chased by the cleaning harpies. "Well, our numbers have certainly decreased today, but I'm happy to announce that we have five new cabins! You all should be extremely proud of yourselves. That's quite an accomplishment in such little time."

A few campers clapped, but most just smiled sadly and silently. It was a good thing that they were now rebuilding and enlarging the camp, but no one could quite forget the friends that they had lost.

"Now, I know the battle in Manhattan was just two weeks ago," Chiron continued, "but you all heard Rachel's prophecy. It could happen anytime from next year to the next century, but we need to be prepared. Before he left, Grover Underwood told me that his number of satyrs decreased—"

"That's an understatement!" a tree nymph called out from where she was serving food. "Over eighty percent of the satyrs he had _died_!"

"Seventy-six percent, actually," Nico di Angelo corrected quietly. Travis was surprised that Nico had actually stuck around; he figured the thirteen-year-old would have gone back to the Underworld with Hades, but he was even rebuilding his own cabin.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Yes. It's tragic, I know. But satyrs are usually the ones who protect and lead half-bloods back here so they can properly train. With the numbers down, no one can do that." He then began to explain that since many demigods had died or were seriously injured, they needed more campers, and fast. Before Travis knew it, Chiron was offering a quest for three campers to go across the country and recruit half-bloods.

Everyone shifted. No one exactly wanted to jump back into the mortal world and walk around with untrained half-bloods. Even though many monsters had been sent back to Tartarus, that didn't mean they were all gone.

"Cabins One, Two, and Three are currently unoccupied," Chiron mused, studying the tables. "Cabin Four…oh, Katie! You're the only camper here for year-round?"

Travis looked up. His sworn enemy and favorite person to prank was sitting alone at Demeter's table, looking rather small since she was by herself. He snickered. Katie sent a glare this way and looked up at Chiron. "Sure," she said confidently, "I'll go."

Chiron smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Wonderful," he said, looking at the next table. "Cabin Five. Clarisse, do any of you—"

"No." The daughter of Ares viciously stabbed a piece of ham on her plate. "Not another one of my brothers or sisters is going into a quest or battle unless they're following _me_." She glanced at her siblings, who looked slightly embarrassed. Travis figured Clarisse was still mad that they had followed Silena against the drakon.

"Well, I think it would—"

"Shut up, Sherman," Clarisse snapped. She looked at Chiron, who didn't look too surprised by her answer. "Sorry, Chiron. Ares is sitting this one out."

"Just like you sat the Battle of Manhattan out?" Travis called. He couldn't help it. Clarisse annoyed him to no end, even more than Katie. At least Katie was fun to tease and looked cute.

Wait. Katie Gardner was not fun _at all_ and she definitely wasn't cute. Travis shook his head. _Maybe I ate too many Skittles_, he thought. _I'm going delusional._

Clarisse glared at Travis and muttered something under her breath about maiming him. Connor whispered to his brother, "I have a prank planned for Ares. I'll put it into motion to avenge your death after Clarisse kills you."

"Cabin Six?" Chiron called.

Malcolm looked uncertainly at his siblings. "Um, before Annabeth left to go to her new school, she kind of…threatened me not to let anyone leave Camp," he explained slowly. Chiron looked slightly disappointed. If anyone could get this job done, it would be Athena kids.

"Cabin Seven?" Chiron called louder. A few campers had gotten bored and struck up conversations.

Will shook his head. "I'm sorry, Chiron," he said. Travis rolled his eyes. Will sounded like his dog had just died. "I would really love to help, but my siblings and I spend all day treating the sick and the campers who have recovering injuries. I'd be happy to help with whatever I can, though."

Chiron sighed, and Travis almost felt bad for the guy. _Almost_. He didn't feel so bad that he was going to cancel a prank. "Jake," the centaur asked, "do any of you—"

"Sorry," Jake replied, shaking his head. "Literally all of our weapons got destroyed in the battle. The camp has no stock. We've been working overtime trying to get our numbers back to what they used to be." Everyone was silent; no one mentioned the Curse of Cabin Nine, as Connor had dubbed it. Ever since the battle and Beckendorf's death, the Hephaestus kids just hadn't been as good as they once were.

Chiron looked at the Hermes kids. "Do any of you deem yourself responsible enough—"

"Hey!" Drew shrieked. Some campers winced at her voice. "You didn't even ask any of us if we wanted to go."

"My apologies, Drew," Chiron said, not sounding very apologetic. "Would any of you want to go?"

Drew scoffed. "No way! None of us would ever volunteer for some made-up quest, except Si—"

"Ah-hem," Chiron interrupted. Many campers looked uncomfortable, but most were glaring at Drew's back. Travis was one of those campers. "Cabin Eleven, do any of you want to go on this quest?"

"Sorry, Chiron, I can't really hear you," Connor said, nudging his brother.

Travis caught on immediately. "Yeah," he agreed. "Could you step a little closer to our table?"

Chiron sighed and slowly made his way toward their table. When he neared it, Connor pulled on a string behind him, and a bucket of water emptied down on Chiron.

Travis and Connor high-fived. Their first prank since the battle was a success. Around them, their siblings were laughing, along with most of the other campers. Travis noticed that Katie was sitting stoically, and he made a mental note to ask her what was wrong, but then he shook his head. He couldn't let her ruin his fun; even Chiron was chuckling. How often did that happen?

"Travis, since you find this so funny," Chiron said, his laughter fading, "I presume you would like to take this quest as well."

"Wait, what?" Travis immediately stopped laughing. He didn't want to go on a quest. He had just been in a freaking _battle_ two weeks ago.

Chiron nodded. "And we need a third person. W—"

"Connor's the one who set up the bucket!" Travis interrupted. He glanced at Katie, who looked livid. "And look how mad Katherine looks. We'll kill each other!"

"_Katie_," Katie grumbled. "I hate Katherine."

Chiron shrugged. "Connor's better at being on-time to classes. Someone will have to lead the cabin while you're on the quest."

"I never agreed to this!"

"Pollux," Chiron continued, ignoring Travis. "Would you—"

"No," Mr. D interrupted. "Pollux is not going on this little merry hunt for more brats."

Pollux looked up. "Dad?"

Chiron looked at the new tables that had been added during the past two weeks. "Does anyone want to join? We'll figure out the numbers for the cabins soon."

Travis didn't listen to whoever answered. He was mad. Beside him, Connor was still laughing at his misfortune. He knew that Travis couldn't stand Katie, and she couldn't stand him either.

He hadn't even been on a real quest since he was thirteen. His first one had been when he was eleven; that had gone smoothly enough. With Connor and Beckendorf by his side, it had been like nothing could go wrong. When he was thirteen, he went on a quest with Silena and Lee. That hadn't been too bad, either. It was weird, now that he thought about it, that almost all of his quest partners were dead now.

So he figured that he could honor them by at least sucking it up and going on this quest. All they had to do was find some more demigods and get them to Camp, right?

After dinner, Chiron announced that because the Apollo kids needed to head back to the infirmary, there would be no campfire singing. No one looked too disappointed; Will had the tendency to play only Neil Diamond songs.

"Katie, Travis, and Nico, stay behind," Chiron called.

Travis numbly walked over to the centaur with the other two. Nico di Angelo and Katie Gardner? These were his quest partners? With his luck, if he didn't strangle Katie by the end of the quest, both of them would be dead because Nico would send them straight to Hades.

"You leave tomorrow morning," Chiron told them. "I suggest you start on the West coast and work your way back here." He trotted away with Mr. D following him, saying something about owing him drachmas for a game of poker.

"Okay," Katie said. She didn't look too thrilled about this quest. "What time do you want to meet tomorrow?" Travis was about to answer when he realized that she was speaking to Nico and not him.

"Um, let's say seven o'clock at Thalia's tree," Nico answered. "Pack light."

"No problem," Travis said, grinning. "We can just pickpocket mortals for stuff we need along the way."

Nico looked at him quizzically before walking away. Katie rolled her eyes at him, muttered something about dealing with an idiot for six years, and stomped off. _Tough crowd_, Travis thought. This was going to be a long quest.

Ω

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry it's not too exciting yet! The quest will start in the next chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm on vacation right now so I'm not sure when the next time I'll be able to update will be. Reviews are always appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I only own this story.**

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><p>CHAPTER TWO<p>

Katie never thought she would see the day where Travis Stoll _willingly_ helped her. (The one time he helped her make a cake only to have it explode in her face did not count.)

But, she watched in awe as he hacked his sword at wolfish creatures that had encountered them on their way to a middle school. One of the creatures had swiped at Katie first, and she hadn't gotten her dagger out in time, so she was curled up in a ball against the wall of a building, useless.

Katie despised feeling useless. Being a daughter of Demeter, most demigods thought they were only good for planting around the camp. So every single year, Katie strived to go above and beyond, excelling in all the classes and being the nicest head counselor possible—except when it came to the Stoll brothers, that is.

"You okay?" Nico asked, breathing hard. He had had to shadow travel to California, since the Pegasus that Travis and Katie had ridden on could only fit two people, and the other Pegasus were still injured from the battle.

"Y-yeah," Katie stammered, but her left arm was killing her. The pain was worse than that one time Travis had accidentally it over with a scooter.

"I don't have any ambrosia on me," Nico continued. They both looked at Travis, who was still busy fighting two creatures. He glanced over at them for a minute before shouting, "I could use a little help here!"

Katie gripped her dagger in her right hand and stood up. A wave of nausea hit her, but it wasn't too terrible. She ran toward one of the creatures and swiped at it. It ducked, and Katie reached behind it and stabbed its back. Gold dust was an immediate replacement.

Travis kicked the last creature against the wall and stabbed it. With a howl of pain, it also disintegrated.

"What were those?" Travis asked, gasping for breath.

"Telkhines," Nico answered, running a hand through his dark hair. "I thought all of them had been in the battle, but I guess they reformed really quickly." He looked troubled, which made Katie uncomfortable.

"Travis," Katie said slowly, "do you by chance have any ambrosia?"

Travis looked at her for a moment. Then he broke into a huge grin and began pointing at Katie.

"Oh my gods!" he exclaimed. "Is Katherine Gardner asking me for help? This is a historic event. Nico, write this down." He slung an arm around Katie's shoulders, but his hand hit her left arm, and she winced in pain.

"_Ow_, you idiot," she groaned, pushing him off of her. "That's where it got me."

Travis recoiled, actually looking apologetic. He rummaged through his backpack for a minute, then stood up straight, looking sheepish. "Um, I _don't_ have any ambrosia, but I _do_ have some pens, whipped cream, seventy dollars, and a bag of Doritos."

Nico rolled his eyes. "We can find some mortal medicine later. Our first school is only two blocks from here. A satyr had been scoping out two sons of Apollo before the battle," he said to Katie.

She nodded and put on her backpack. As they began walking, she began to discuss with Nico ways that they could get the demigods back to Camp Half-Blood safely without having to go with them, so they could stay on the West Coast and find more demigods.

"Well, if their dad is Apollo, we could just wait until tomorrow morning and get him to fly them to Camp in his chariot," Travis suggested. It was annoying him that Nico and Katie were ignoring him. After all, _who_ had just saved their butts from big ugly wolves? That's right, Travis Stoll!

"That's a good idea," Nico agreed, nodding. "I mean, Apollo's ego might slightly terrify them, but he'll make sure they get back safely. If he's driving."

"You talk like you've ridden with him before," Katie noted. Nico's expression darkened and he didn't answer.

Katie and Travis shared a look. Neither of them knew the son of Hades too well, and they'd both heard from Percy that the thirteen-year-old tended to have very serious (not to mention scary) moments.

When they reached the designated middle school, Travis internally groaned. Although he'd been at Camp Half-Blood for eight years (pretty much half his life), he still had a vague memory of mortal school. Uptight teachers, stupid classmates, disgusting food, and cheap playground toys were not things he wanted to remember.

"Ugh, school," he complained as they entered the big brick building. Katie shushed him.

"So do we just go to the office and tell them we need to pick up two of their students?" Nico mused. "I know how to use the Mist."

"We don't know the kids' names," Katie pointed out. "We're going to have to check each of the classrooms."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Travis interrupted, holding up his hands. "I'm actually going _into_ the classrooms? Chiron said this thing would be easy!"

"It is easy," Katie argued, rolling her eyes. "Just walk in holding your sword. If a kid can see through the Mist, get them alone, ask about their parents, and if something's off, take them with you. Let's meet back here in an hour."

"Okay," Nico agreed.

RING! The three demigods looked around as students burst out of classrooms, chattering loudly. Teachers hurried after them, calling out for kids to walk. It reminded Katie of Camp Half-Blood when it was time for—

"Lunch," Travis muttered. "Great. How are we going to find them now?" His eyes darted around, noticing that many of the younger students who were in sixth grade were waving candy bars around like loot as they were herded into the cafeteria. "Never mind! Let's go."

Ω

Finding the two sons of Apollo wasn't hard at all. Many blunt preteens asked Nico why he was holding an iron, or why Katie was gripping a flower in her hand. Nico was slightly offended. Out of all the things the Mist could make his Stygian iron sword, it had to be…a regular old iron.

"Guys!" Travis exclaimed. Katie and Nico were waiting back in front of the office after no luck finding the two demigods. "I found them!"

Even though the halls were still bustling with students going back to class, Katie felt the need to shush Travis. He ignored her and pushed two brothers, looking about eleven years old, toward them. They were obviously identical twins, with dirty blonde hair and light brown eyes.

Katie smiled warmly at the two brothers, who looked slightly scared of Travis, who was grinning like a maniac and holding their shoulders. Nico wasn't helping either; he was all but glaring at the two brothers, who were clinging onto each other. Katie recalled that when Nico had first come to Camp Half-Blood, he had an older sister; she figured this probably brought up some bad memories for him.

"Hi, guys," she greeted them. "I'm Katie, this is Travis, and that's Nico. I know you're probably a little scared, but—"

"Well, duh," one of the brothers interrupted flatly. "You guys are carrying swords and daggers. Are you going to kill us? Our mom said that when we got older, people would be trying to kill us."

"No, we're the good guys," Travis offered. "We're like you; one of our parents is mortal, and the other is a Greek god. We got some information that your dad is—"

"Apollo," the other brother cut in, looking bored. "Our mom told us everything she thought we needed to know last year. You're going to take us to Chiron at Camp Half-Blood, right?"

"That's right," Nico answered, his voice steely calm. It made Katie more than a little uncomfortable. "And we'd really appreciate it if you stopped interrupting us…"

"Eddie," the first brother offered. "That's my brother, Allan."

The five of them snuck out of the school quickly. Katie thanked Zeus that no one caught them. She suggested that they Iris-message Chiron to let him know they had found two half-bloods who would be on their way to Camp.

When the Iris-message cleared, Katie gasped. The centaur looked very old and tired, and there was yelling going on in the background. It sounded like Annabeth was…crying?

"Chiron!" she exclaimed. "What's going on?"

The centaur smiled, but he looked the complete opposite of happy. "Hello, Katie. Travis. Nico. We're going to need you to do more than just a search for unknown demigods."

"What?" Nico asked. "What do you mean?"

"I fear the Great Prophecy has begun," Chiron answered, making them freeze. "And you need to look for someone. Percy Jackson is missing."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This one's a long one, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p>CHAPTER THREE<p>

Travis didn't see how any amount of whining could get him out of this one.

"Guys," he tried once again. "Percy can totally handle himself!" After a moment of thought, he added, "Sometimes. With Annabeth. If he's in the mood to listen." Okay, maybe Percy _was_ in danger, but Travis hadn't gone on this quest to save a child of the Big Three (or, die.)

Nico and Katie simultaneously shushed him. Katie had accepted Chiron's request without any hesitation, but Nico's reaction to the news surprised Travis; he had been at a loss for words and became even moodier than usual. Travis recalled a few daughters of Aphrodite gossiping about the fact that Nico had a crush on Annabeth, so he figured Nico was just worried about the daughter of Athena. Travis supposed if he were in Nico's shoes and something worrisome happened to Katie, he would be moody also.

Wait.

_Wait_.

Where in Hades had that thought come from? Katie? Katherine Gardner, the daughter of Demeter, the Stoll brothers' arch nemesis, the type of girl Travis would totally _not_ have a crush on?

Travis shook his head. Maybe he was dehydrated, and before he knew it, he would be as crazy as some of Mr. D's victims.

"Who's Percy?" Eddie (or was it Allan?) asked.

"Another demigod," Katie answered, sighing. "A son of Poseidon."

"Another really important, strong demigod," Nico added. "If Percy's kidnapped or something, whatever has him is pretty powerful."

"So, what," Allan huffed, "you're just going to leave us in the middle of this field? Where even are we?"

"Somewhere in Nevada," Travis answered. "Apollo usually drives by through here, but he doesn't stop, so we're going to need to flag him down so he can take you two to Camp while we find more demigods."

"And Percy," Nico added.

"Right."

Katie yawned from where she was sitting in the grass. She was functioning on about three hours of sleep, and the grass was just so soft. Demeter must have blessed this place...

"Earth to Katie!" Travis shouted, throwing a pebble at her. She quickly dodged it and stood up, glaring at him. "What? Sunrise is in two minutes. We need a plan to get Apollo's attention."

"Scream a haiku, that should get his attention," Nico grumbled, crossing his arms.

Travis and Katie glanced at each other.

Nico raised his eyebrows. "I-I was kidding, guys. But..."

"Didn't you say you've met my dad before?" Eddie asked Nico, looking at him intently. "You should know what kind of poems he would be attracted to."

"Yeah, Nico," Travis snickered. "Recite some poetry for us!" Katie rolled her eyes at Travis but looked at Nico expectantly. They had to get Apollo's attention somehow.

"Oh, for Zeus's sake," Nico sighed. He waited a few seconds until he could faintly see the sunrise in the distance.

_Hello, Apollo_

_The greatest god at his job_

_We need your help please_

For ten seconds, nothing happened. Eddie and Allan looked slightly disappointed, and Nico looked extremely embarrassed. Travis almost felt bad for them.

Suddenly, the sunrise rapidly brightened, and the five demigods shielded their eyes as a bright light appeared in front of them. Travis heard the screech of...a car? Wasn't the sun driven by a chariot?

When the light dimmed, the demigods opened their eyes. Katie found herself staring at an attractive seventeen-year-old guy who slightly resembled Will Solace, although this man was much more attractive. He hopped out of a bright red sports car and looked at the demigods.

"Hey, kids," Apollo said, smiling and stuffing his hands in his pockets. He nodded at Nico. "Nice haiku, kid. Very truthful."

Nico stared at the god. "Thanks," he replied dumbly. After his embarrassing moment of screaming poetry to the sky, he figured he would get a little more recognition.

The six of them stood in a circle for about thirty seconds, no one saying a word. Travis was the one to break the silence, which Katie wasn't surprised about.

"Awesome car!" he gushed, grinning. "Zeus lets you whip around in this?"

Apollo grinned back and patted the Spyder behind him. "Yeah, Dad stopped caring about my chosen vehicle a few centuries ago. Occasionally, I have to switch out to school bus mode when I'm transporting people, but I prefer sports car mode."

"Speaking of that, Lord Apollo," Katie said. "We need you to take these two to Camp Half-Blood. Chiron's request. Please." Her big brown eyes gazed up at him, unwavering and focused, like she might cry if he denied her request.

Apollo seemed to notice the two twins for the first time. "Eddie! Allan! It's finally time for you guys to go to Camp, huh?"

"I guess," Allan answered flatly.

"Yep," Eddie answered in the same monotone. Katie guessed their mom hadn't spoken very highly of Apollo.

Apollo cleared his throat. He told his two sons that the three of them could squeeze into the sports car if they wanted to. The twins told him they didn't care and climbed in the car.

As they drove into the sky (without a thank you), Travis couldn't help but notice that Apollo, in his seventeen-year-old form, looked like he could be the twins' big brother. That made him miss Connor. He voiced his opinion.

"You can see him when we get back," Nico told him. He looked around. "We're not far from Hoover Dam. Percy's been there. I think he talked to those two metal angels, so we could ask them if they've heard anything from their...friends." Travis was about to question Nico's statement when he remembered that Annabeth had gotten some metal statues during the battle to get up and help. It was quite possible that two giant metal angels could help them, too.

Katie nodded in agreement. A slight, warm breeze picked up, making the flower headband she had made on their way to Nevada flutter in her hair. Travis thought the headband made her look natural and serene.

Wait.

_Wait_.

What was with him today? Katie Gardner was anything but natural and serene. She was the one who constantly screeched from her cabin about problems with her plants; definitely not serene. Or natural, for that matter.

"We need to get a taxi," Katie pointed out. There were a few cars on the road, but she hadn't seen a taxi yet. "And mortal cash."

"I got this," Travis said confidently. He spotted a yellow taxi driving in their direction. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, catching the driver's attention.

"Impressive," Nico commented as they climbed in the backseat. Travis shrugged, admitting he and Connor had had to learn how to get taxis fast when stealing in New York.

"You guys sure are up early," the taxi driver commented. He handed them a brochure of Nevada. "Here's this, just in case you're not sure of what you want to do today."

Travis, who was seated in the middle between Nico and Katie, took the brochure and began flipping through it, reading aloud.

"Ooh, they have a new restaurant on The Strip," Travis noted. "Yum!" The taxi driver chuckled at that.

"There's the annual watering of some cacti in the desert," he continued. "Boring." Katie elbowed him in the ribs for that, insisting that it was actually very cool.

"And the Lotus Casino has free hotel rooms for a group of three or more," he concluded. Nico froze for a minute.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked, sensing the tension. "What's the Lotus Casino?"

Nico glanced at the taxi driver and whispered to Travis and Katie in Greek. "It's a place that makes time slow down and stop without you noticing. My sister and I..." He took a deep breath. "We were stuck there for scenery years. We'd probably still be in there if it weren't for my dad."

"No way," Travis replied in the same language. "Dude, you're like eighty years old!" Katie rolled her eyes so hard that it actually hurt.

In English, Katie told the taxi driver, "Lotus Casino, please."

Ω

Nico wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to go to the place where he was unknowingly imprisoned for seven decades, but he made a promise to himself; he would not, under any circumstances, get stuck in the Lotus Casino again. He wouldn't let Katie or Travis get stuck there, either. He didn't feel a particular friendship with either of them, but Travis was funny and Katie was nice, and he would definitely feel bad if something unfortunate happened to them.

"Wow," Travis commented as he stared at the building. "It even looks cool at eight in the morning!"

"Don't think that," Nico warned. "That's how they trap you. Don't eat any of the food, or drink any of the drinks, or talk to any of the workers. I want to talk to the manager. You guys just stay together and I'll meet up with you."

Katie blinked. "You want me to stay with Travis. In a casino." When Nico sheepishly nodded, she exhaled, mentally preparing herself for the next hour. "Okay, fine. Come on, Travis."

As the three entered the casino, Nico realized why it was so difficult to leave; everything about the place was just good. Good music was playing, good-looking people adorned the space, good food was set out on platters, and good vibes filled the air. He spotted a variety of games he wouldn't mind playing within the first two minutes of entering the casino, and he smelled a variety of snacks he wouldn't mind eating within the first ten seconds.

"Oh, look at those hanging plants on the ceiling!" Katie gushed, her brown eyes sparkling. "They're glowing! I wonder how they did that?"

"Oh, man, check out that Lambo!" Travis exclaimed, pointing to a gold-colored car surrounded by velvet rope. "I bet that wouldn't be too hard to steal..."

"Guys," Nico snapped. They looked back at him quickly. "It's already getting to you. Nothing is cool here, okay? Stay right next to that jukebox, and I'll be back as soon as I can." He walked off, determined to find the manager. The manager certainly had to know what was going on in the casino, and how it was happening. Nico gripped the hilt on his hidden sword; he had a feeling he would need it.

Ω

"Travis, it's my turn," Katie complained, light punching his bicep. "You lost!"

"I never lose," Travis insisted. "This pinball machine is...broken. The right side totally went up."

"And the ball just happened to miss it," Katie replied flatly. She tried to push him out of the way, but he stayed planted where he was. There were other machines that looked even better than the one they were fighting over, but Katie knew what would happen if she got distracted and wandered.

Katie jumped as a hand tapped her shoulder. Her hand immediately gripped her dagger, but she relaxed when she saw who was in front of her. It was a guy, about eighteen, wearing worn black jeans and a leather jacket.

"Hey," he said, smiling. "I'm playing a round over on the other side. Want to join?"

Katie glanced at Travis. Nico had told them specifically not to leave, but Katie wasn't stupid. She wouldn't get caught here with some guy who looked straight out of the seventies.

Travis stopped playing and met her eyes. He gave her a curious look, like, 'Go see what he wants.' Katie figured that if Nico got upset over her leaving, she could just blame Travis (like she had done many times before at Camp), so she followed the guy across the casino to another pinball machine.

"That your boyfriend?" the guy asked her, feeding a few coins into the machine.

Katie was appalled. "N-no! Why would you think that?" Her neck and cheeks felt flushed. Sure, Travis was admittedly attractive and sometimes he could be funny, but in her book, he was also associated with words like annoying, prankster, and going-to-Tartarus.

The guy shrugged. "You guys will date one day, though. Believe me. I saw a couple of kids a few days ago, younger than you, but it was so obvious two of them were going to date." He cursed as he lost the game and stepped aside for Katie to take her turn. "Groovy kids, too. The boy was really weird, though."

"Oh really?" Katie asked, focusing on the game, not really paying attention to what the guy was saying. "Who was he?"

"Just a kid who likes video games, like me," he answered. "I think his name was Percy or something. He got really freaked when I told him what year it is, for some reason."

Katie suddenly froze, letting the ball in the game go right past. The screen flashed, alerting her she had lost, but Katie didn't pay attention to that. She whirled on the guy and demanded, "Percy Jackson? He was here?"

"Aw, dude, I didn't catch his last name," the guy responded, slightly pushing her aside so he could play. "He your little brother or something?"

Katie thought for a minute. Hadn't this guy used the word 'groovy' a minute before? And he was wearing some pretty old-style clothes, what the daughters of Aphrodite would refer to as vintage. Also, Percy wasn't that much younger than her; maybe a few months at the most. There was no way he would be referred to a little brother.

"Um, a distant relative," Katie answered, which wasn't a lie. "How old...was he?"

"Aw, dude, heck if I know," the guy sighed. "Eleven, twelve? The little blonde chic he was with was taller than him."

Katie internally sighed. Here she thought she was onto something, but this poor guy just had a distorted view of time and didn't know Percy hadn't been to the Lotus Casino in over four years. She thanked him and walked back to the pinball machine where Travis had been; except now, he wasn't there. Katie rolled her eyes. Of course this would happen.

Ω

Nico came to the conclusion that mortals who could see through the Mist were sometimes more dangerous than monsters. Being mortal, even though they could see weapons, that couldn't actually be harmed by them. The manager of the Lotus Casino was one of those mortals.

He currently had Nico handcuffed to a chair, with his sword far away from him. The manager—Dylan, his name tag said—had fighting skills, which Nico definitely hadn't been expecting, and he couldn't be harmed by Nico's sword. That left Nico's fists to try and pummel Dylan, but come on, he was thirteen, and Dylan was at least thirty years old and looked like he exercised on a daily basis.

Nico wanted to hate Dylan, he really did; but Dylan was actually a nice guy. He made small talk and asked Nico questions (and he got false answers, of course) and Nico almost forgot that he was handcuffed.

"So, Nick," Dylan said, using Nico's fake name he had been given, "why are you really here?"

"I just want to know why you do this," Nico answered angrily, telling Dylan the truth for the first time. "My sister and I were stuck here for seventy years and we only got out a few years ago. It wasn't even on our own; someone came out and got us!"

Dylan nodded understandingly. "To be honest, Nick, this is my punishment. I'm mortal, but sometime last century I...I made Zeus pretty upset, saying that he should make mortals' lives longer, not just the old mortals from the first few centuries and demigods. I can't leave this place. I'm supposed to be dead. I was stupid back then, Nick. I would've rather died at the age of thirty than live for two hundred years. Time is seriously messy."

Nico looked at Dylan blankly. He had expected to be angry, or avenge his sister's death, or at least feel some sort of closure, but he didn't. Suddenly he felt guilty; he had let his emotions compromise him on this quest, and that would make Katie and Travis—

Katie and Travis!

Nico let out an audible gasp. Dylan looked at him questioningly. How long has he been in the manager's office? There was no way in Hades Travis had managed to stay in one place. He was probably separated from Katie, and that would make it even harder for Nico to find them.

"Sorry, Dylan," Nico said, lifting his wrist. "For attacking you, I mean. But could you let me go, please? I have things I need to do."

Dylan shifted uncomfortably. "Oh, uh, sorry Nick. I can't do that. I don't want to be the bad, mean guy here, but no one's allowed to leave the Lotus Casino. The secret about stopping time would be all over the place!" He peered at Nico seriously. "Even the mortals wouldn't be able to come up with an explanation for that. They would discover the truth about the gods, which would shatter the gods' very existence...which in turn, would shatter you."

Nico paled. Dylan got a call on his cell phone and abruptly left his office, muttering something about someone who had supposedly cheated in a game of poker.

He really didn't want to do it, but Nico knew he needed to pray to someone to get him, Katie, and Travis out of there without too much trouble. He knew Poseidon was probably busy over Percy's disappearance, and he had heard that Hera had left Olympus for a quick visit with someone, so that ruled them out.

Mr. D didn't even know his name, so Nico doubted he would help him. He wasn't Zeus's favorite person, and his father Hades would probably just nag him about getting stuck in the casino again, so there were three more gods he couldn't ask. He had already asked Apollo for help, and the quirky god would probably get himself stuck in the Lotus Casino somehow. Ares hated Percy, so he definitely wouldn't help three demigods trying to save Percy. Hermes was probably the busiest of the gods, Nico thought, so he wouldn't have time to help them. Annabeth was most likely praying overtime to Athena, and the goddess of wisdom slightly terrified Nico, so he didn't want to deal with her. Demeter hated him because Persephone did, and she was always telling him he was too skinny, so Nico knew she wouldn't be much help. Artemis might be willing to help, since Bianca had been a Hunter, but with two boys, it was unlikely. Hephaestus might be able to help, but Nico didn't think he could build something to help them, and besides, Aphrodite might yell at him.

Nico froze in thought. The goddess of love frequently visited half-bloods, from what he could tell, so she wasn't super busy like Hermes. And she had once called Nico cute. Before he knew what he was doing, Nico was sending a prayer to Aphrodite.

_Hello, Aphrodite_, he thought. _My friends, Katie and Travis, and I are stuck in the Lotus Casino. We need help getting out. Please._

After a moment's pause, he realized that even if she did hear him, he would have to make some sort of romantic sacrifice.

_If you do this, I'll admit my feelings for Percy. Not today, maybe not next year, but I'll make sure to do it one day...if we find him. But I need to get out of here in order to do that._

For a minute, nothing happened. Then, the door opened, and Dylan walked back in. Nico was disappointed.

Then, the door reopened, and Aphrodite waltzed in.

She was wearing white jeans and a flowing red blouse. At first her hair was curly and blonde, then it was wavy and black, and then it looked straight and brown. Nico couldn't focus on her face entirely. But she was beautiful, he could tell, and she was here to help him. Hope rose in his chest.

Aphrodite winked at him and cleared her throat, drawing Dylan's attention. He stared at her for a minute in shock.

"H-hi, ma'am," he stammered, not realizing who she was. "Wow. Um. Hi, how may I help you today?"

Aphrodite snapped her fingers—a sharp, clear sound, and said in a firm voice, "You're going to let this boy here go, along with his friends. You're going to make it easy for them to leave. Understand, Dylan?" She flashed him a million-dollar smile, and Dylan all but scrambled to unlock Nico's handcuffs and hand him his sword. He was still staring at Aphrodite as she escorted Nico out of the room.

"Thank you," Nico breathed once they were out in the hallway. He could faintly here dancing music.

Aphrodite shrugged. "No biggie. You're cute, you know? So is Percy."

Nico blushed.

"Oh, stop!" Aphrodite cooed, patting his shoulder. "I promised to make Percy's love life very interesting, and well, I can't work my magic if he's missing, now can I?" She gave him a serious look. "You're part of that, Nico. You need to tell him how you feel to get it off your chest. But I promise you, you will find someone in the end." She winked at him.

Nico stared at her for a minute. She reminded him of Silena Beauregard, and that scared him a little. Silena had been the first (and only) demigod to tell him that she knew he liked Percy. That was before she died.

"I really have to get going. Things are crazy on Olympus," Aphrodite told Nico. "Good luck with this quest, though! Oh, and Nico, do me a favor, will you?"

"Yeah?"

"Make sure Travis and Katie get together," Aphrodite said, her eyes full of passion. "Chiron owes me a few favors. It was on purpose that he stepped under that bucket of water. He knew Connor set up a prank for him."

Nico was baffled. "Wait," he said slowly. "You organized this trio?"

"Well, you were a bit of a surprise," Aphrodite admitted. "But once Katie signed up, I knew I had to do something. I sent a quick mind message to Chiron. Travis and Katie have to realize their feelings for each other soon. You demigods don't live forever, you know?"

Nico nodded numbly. Oh, he knew.

Aphrodite gave him a sympathetic look before applying some mascara to her eyes. She winked at him again before walking away, and Katie and Travis suddenly came running over to him.

"We need to get out of here," Katie hissed, glaring at Travis. "Genius here got caught cheating in a game of poker."

"It wasn't fair! I never get caught!"

"You get in trouble all the time at Camp, idiot."

"Gods, Katherine, why are you so mean to me?"

"You pull pranks on me every day!"

Nico sighed as he followed the two out of the casino. How was he going to keep his promise to Aphrodite?

Ω

"I freaking love trains," Travis announced for the third time. Nico threw a small box at him. Katie groaned and told him to shut up.

The three of them were on a train back to a different part of California. Annabeth had Iris-messaged them and asked them to check near a certain mountain near San Francisco because she had a dream about it.

"Rough crowd," Travis muttered. "We still have like two hours until we get there, according to this new GPS I got."

"When did you get that?" Nico asked sleepily. His makeshift bed consisting of newspaper and a sweatshirt wasn't comfortable to begin with, and Travis's voice was making it even harder to sleep.

"I stole it from some guy at the casino," Travis boasted. He glanced at Katie, who had gone back to sleep. His smile faded when he noticed she wasn't listening. "Don't worry, though. I'm gonna chuck it out of the train when we're a few minutes from our destination to throw any monsters off."

Nico nodded. He found it unsettling that they hadn't encountered any monsters besides the telkhines. That had been four days before.

When Katie awoke for the second time, Travis was throwing his GPS out of the train car they were in and Nico was stuffing some supplies he had found in his backpack.

"Good morning, Katherine," Travis greeted cheerily. "How do you say good morning from where you're from?"

"You mean Louisiana?" Katie asked flatly.

"Yeah. Like, does your dad say, 'G'morning, Katie-Belle! Let's get the milk and go feed the cows! Yeehaw!'" Travis badly imitated a country accent, despite the fact that Katie didn't have one.

Katie glared at him. "No," she whispered harshly, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "My dad's dead. I haven't been home since I was thirteen."

Nico sensed the tension in the air. It was unlike any he had felt since this quest; sure, there had been awkward silences when Travis made fun of Katie or she hurt him on purpose, but this time was different. This time, Travis had actually struck a nerve.

"Oh...gods, I'm so sorry," Travis said quickly, his eyes widening. "I didn't know."

"Yeah, you don't know anything!" Katie shouted, crossing her arms. "You're so godsdamned ignorant, Travis! I can't stand it! None of my relatives in Louisiana have country accents, and my dad wasn't some rodeo-loving cowboy! He was in the army! Gods!"

Travis looked horrified. "Oh, my gods," he mumbled. "Katie, I'm so sorry, I am so sorry..."

Nico glanced at Katie sympathetically. He was about to tell Travis to shove something up somewhere when the train screeched to a halt, throwing the three of them off balance.

"Jump!" Nico exclaimed, and they all did just that.

After a few minutes of listening to Travis's pathetic apologies, Katie froze. She had only been to Olympus twice before and seen the goddess of marriage, but she could recognize the aura of power and stature that the woman held anywhere. Her hair was darker, and she was wearing an odd Roman-style dress, but it was definitely Hera facing them.

"Demigods," she said, not without distaste. "You are in dangerous territory."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am so sorry for the wait! Reviews are appreciated!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I'm still going to try and update at least once a week! The new semester just started so things have been insanely hectic. There's one sentence in Latin in here and I'll translate it in the author's note at the end of the chapter. Reviews are always read and appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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><p>CHAPTER FOUR<p>

As he watched his aunt creepily stare off into the distance and listened to Katie and Travis bicker, Nico wondered how he got stuck with this, but he supposed it was better than being turned into a dandelion in front of your father (long story.)

"She is coming," Hera murmured, making Katie and Travis stop arguing to look at her. Nico gripped his sword tightly. Hera acting even weirder than when she conversed with Zeus's other children.

"Who?" Katie asked. "Lady Hera, does this have something to do with Percy's disappearance?"

"_Tempus enim prope est_," Hera whispered, squaring her shoulders. Nico thought she looked like a man on death row; prepared to die, even if they didn't want to.

A wolf howled in the distance, sending shivers up Katie's spine. She hated wolves. When her father had been deployed and she stayed with her grandparents on their farm, it wasn't uncommon for a wolf to kill and eat the chickens. As a little girl, it had terrified her. Wolves had sometimes found their way onto her grandparents' house property and scratched and howled at the back door.

The howl became louder and louder, and based on Hera's expression, Katie guessed that it wasn't an ordinary wolf they were dealing with. It sounded like the wolf wanted to get a message across to someone.

"_Semideos_, you must leave," Hera insisted, sounding concerned and frightened. Katie found that odd; she knew that her aunt definitely didn't care for Nico or Travis, and she'd always told Demeter that her half-blood children were weak. "This is no place for you!"

"Annabeth told us to come here," Travis said. The wolf howling died down, and Hera wrapped her goatskin cloak tightly around her shoulders. "Did she mean to come here and help you?"

"Minerva's child," Hera scoffed darkly. She was about to say something else when the ground ripped open and she fell in the hole. Dirt and rocks tumbled around, and Katie's voice got stuck in her throat as the ground closed up around Hera. A minute later, it looked like she had never been there. The grass calmly swayed in the fall wind.

"What. The. Hades," Travis gasped, running over to the spot where Hera had disappeared. He suddenly smirked and looked up at Katie and Nico, who both looked horrified. "We just watched a goddess get _grounded_!"

The pun was so incredibly stupid that Nico had to laugh. He shook his head. Katie rolled her eyes at the two. Boys were so immature! Maybe she would join the Hunters of Artemis one day. Those girls were terrifying and strong, but they didn't have to deal with the Stoll brothers every single day.

"Travis, this isn't a joke," she snapped, pulling a short dagger out from her backpack. "The queen of the gods was just taken in front of our eyes! Do you know how much uproar this is going to cause?"

"You using the word uproar is going to cause an uproar," Travis snickered. He couldn't help it. He felt awful about insulting Katie on the train earlier, but it was in his blood to joke with her. Most babies were born with the innate ability to speak; Travis was born with the innate ability to make fun of Katie Gardner.

"Wait, no, she's right," Nico interrupted. He paled. "Zeus already hates me, Travis. I just let his wife get kidnapped and I didn't do anything to stop it!"

"Guys, we'll be okay," Travis insisted, although now he felt like he needed to reassure himself. "Something powerful enough to take Hera could probably kill us in an instant. We just need to get away from here. Percy's not here."

Katie and Nico agreed. The three walked north, trying to shake the feeling that something very, very bad was going to happen very, very soon.

Ω

"Are all boys' boarding schools like this?" Katie asked in horror. The building they were in had dim, flickering lights, the smell of bleach, and loud boys who would put the Stoll brothers to shame. This place was making Katie want to be a Hunter even more.

Travis shook his head. "Connor and I went to one before we went to Camp. It was nothing like this dump." He kicked a pair of dirty socks away from him. What were socks doing in the head administrator's office, anyway?

A son of Ares was apparently staying here, and Travis couldn't say he was surprised. If anyone would willingly stay at a disgusting location like this, it would be the Ares boys. Even the Hermes kids had some standards. He voiced his opinion, and Katie punched him harder than usual. She was on edge ever since Hera had disappeared; she was terrified that the three of them would get in huge trouble for letting the goddess get taken.

A heavyset young woman suddenly entered the office, dropping paper from the pile she was holding. She paid no attention to the fallen sheets as she dumped the pile on the desk.

"Hello, children," she greeted absentmindedly. "You should get back to your dorms. Professor Peitha wouldn't like you all to be out right now." She didn't even seem to notice that Katie was a girl.

"Right," Travis answered, pushing Nico and Katie out of the office.

Once they were out in the hallway, Travis turned toward Nico. "Fight me."

"What?" Nico asked, backing up. Katie looked equally confused. Nico was a great sword fighter, but Travis had at least five inches on him. "Are you okay, because—"

"Fights automatically attract boys," Travis explained, cracking his knuckles. "I'll bet you five drachmas that Ares's kid will be the first one here."

"Oh my gods, it's not a real fight!" Katie cried as Travis cracked his neck.

"It has to look real, Katherine," Travis explained. He stopped preparing for the fake fight and looked at the other two demigods. "You guys have seriously never fake-fought? Me and Connor do it all the time!"

"Connor and I," Katie corrected, rolling her eyes. "Don't do this. We can think of a better way to get him here."

The three demigods stopped talking as a tall woman in a business suit entered the hallway with a tall, muscular guy who looked about fifteen years old. She was carrying a clipboard and looked deeply displeased.

"Danny," she reprimanded. "This persuasive essay just isn't getting to me! Do I _really_ want to buy tickets to a boxing match?"

"I dunno," Danny answered, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. Tall, strong, and dumb; Travis figured that this was definitely the son of Ares they were looking for. Katie was gripping her dagger and Nico tensed up, so he guessed they thought the same thing.

"There should be a monster," Katie whispered. "There's always a monster."

The woman seemed to notice the three of them down the hallway. Travis groaned. He hated schools, and he hated falsely sweet teachers even more. Especially ones who made you write persuasive essays.

"You guys should leave," the woman told them as she walked toward them. "Do you go to school here?"

"Yes, ma'am," Nico answered. "This is my cousin, Katie. She's visiting for the weekend." Travis raised his eyebrows, impressed. The son of Hades was pretty good at lying.

Danny cautiously walked toward them. "Ms. Peitha, I have gym next, and we're wrestling today—"

The woman, Peitha, chuckled. "No, you want to stay right here, don't you?" she asked. Danny looked confused for a minute before slowly nodding. Katie exhaled as she remembered stories about Peitha, the goddess of persuasion; she had an ability, much similar to Aphrodite's charmspeak, to get people to do whatever she wanted.

Katie lunged forward suddenly, holding her dagger up the woman's throat. "Let him go," she growled. "Or else I'll seriously have to hurt you."

Travis and Nico wasted no time in going to action. Nico quickly told Danny that he needed to come with them, and unlike most demigods who didn't know they were related to an Olympian, Danny simply nodded. Nico almost shook his head. Ares kids were so gullible. He recalled the ones from Camp following a small daughter of Aphrodite into battle; how did that even _happen_?

Travis slashed his sword at Peitha, whose clipboard had turned into a sword. She hissed at him before smiling sweetly.

"Would you really hurt your dear older sister?" she asked, leaning her head to the side. "I'm a daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite, you know. I don't think Hermes would appreciate you slashing his daughter."

Travis lowered his sword. Peitha was right. All his life, he'd been in unspoken competition with Luke, who had obviously been Hermes's favorite. Killing his dad's favorite daughter wouldn't put him on Hermes's 'favorite kids' list, if such a thing existed.

A cry from Katie jolted Travis from his thoughts. While he was distracted, Peitha had stabbed the daughter of Demeter in the stomach and threw her against the wall. Katie didn't move.

"What the hell?" Danny screamed, horrified. He looked around. "I need a weapon! I can help, man!"

"No, you can't," Nico told him, and that shut Danny up. He rushed over to Katie while simultaneously pulling ambrosia from his pockets.

Meanwhile, Travis was seeing red. If Katie was dead, then she would die, and their last conversation together would've been an argument. Travis couldn't have that. Katie couldn't die.

"I don't think Demeter would like it if you killed her daughter," he grunted as he swiped at Peitha. Using a difficult sword technique Percy (oh, gods, who was still missing) had taught him, he disarmed his half-sister and plunged his sword into her chest. Golden ichor spewed out immediately, and Peitha staggered back, coughing.

Travis grinned to himself. He had just beaten a goddess by himself without help from Connor or toilet paper. This definitely had to go in his book, _The History of Travis Stoll_, which he still had to start.

"Oh, brother," she sighed, smiling, although pain was evident from her tight expression. "You think you've won? The earth will swallow you first, when she rises."

"What are you talking about, woman?" Travis demanded, but Peitha laughed as she waved her hand and disappeared. He shook his head and sneezed as the scent of perfume filled the air. Peitha was definitely a daughter of Aphrodite. Then he thought about what she had said, about the earth swallowing him. Did that have anything to do with Hera being swallowed up by the earth?

"Travis, come here," Nico called. Travis cursed himself. How could he forget? Katie had been stabbed by his insane half-sister!

Travis sprinted over to Nico and Danny, ignoring the pain in his legs. The other two demigods were leaning over Katie.

"Her life aura's fading," Nico whispered. Travis's heart sank, and for once, he was at a loss for words. "I think she's going to die."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_**Tempus enim prope est**_** = The time is near**

_**Semideos**_** = demigods**

(Let me know if those translations are right! I used my friend who takes Latin, but she could be wrong.)

School starts in a few minutes so I was super rushed but I wanted to get a chapter in! I'm sorry it's boring. When the weekend comes I'll write a much better one.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I wanted to have this up earlier, but my school decided not to cancel yesterday even though it was eight degrees…**

**Disclaimer: I only own this story.**

* * *

><p>CHAPTER FIVE<p>

Nico knew he wasn't a people person. He probably never would be. He also knew that, at the moment, he was the only one that could comfort the other demigod beside him.

"Hey," he said, exhaling. He didn't sound confident at all, which probably wouldn't help. "Uh, how are you holding up?"

"I'm fine," the other boy replied, running a hand through his hair. He leaned against the tree behind him. "This…this is a lot to take in, you know? What do I tell people?"

Nico shrugged, which made the other boy take a shaky breath. Nico studied him closer. Was that a _tear_ sliding down his cheek? Crying wouldn't help anything; Nico knew that firsthand.

"Hey," he snapped, making the other boy look at him. "You're not crying, okay? There's too much other things going on. You're a son of Ares, for Zeus's sake! What would your dad think?"

"I don't know," Danny wailed, wiping his eyes. "I've never met my dad! All my life my mom has told me he died in combat! This is a big step for me, you know?"

"You haven't even done anything," Nico replied flatly. It was odd, seeing a six feet tall teenager cry over daddy issues. "We're going to take you to Camp Half-Blood, where kids of gods and mortals stay. You'll have a cabin and stay with your other brothers and sisters—"

"Really?" Danny interrupted, all signs of distress gone. He sat forward, looking excited. "I have brothers and sisters?"

Nico didn't answer. He was too busy thinking about Clarisse, who would most likely pulverize her new brother when he first spoke.

Travis suddenly appeared behind the tree, panting. He had just run down the hill to where Nico and Danny were sitting. He looked triumphant and happy, waving his hands around with sparkling eyes.

"Guys!" he exclaimed, pausing to take a breath. "Katie's awake! I had to use up the last of our ambrosia and nectar, but she's awake!"

Nico followed Travis up the hill with Danny trailing behind them. Travis had made Katie a makeshift bed under a huge oak tree, using their jackets and backpacks for pillows. Katie was sitting up, absentmindedly playing with blades of grass. Her cuts had faded and she appeared to be well-rested.

"Hey, guys," she said. Her voice sounded strong; Nico guessed it was because of the ambrosia. "Thanks for, you know, dragging me here."

"Thank me," Danny boasted, crossing his arms with a rather smug smile. "Travis's arms started getting tired halfway here!"

"Shut up, no they didn't," Travis muttered quickly. He looked back to Katie. "So, any ideas of how we're going to get Danny here back to Camp while looking for Percy?"

Katie stood up. She didn't like all the attention she was getting; for some reason, Travis seemed super concerned for her. She thought that was weird. Ever since she had gotten to Camp when she was ten, she had always thought he and his brother would be the death of her.

"I had a dream," she told the three other demigods. Her memory was fuzzy, but she tried to recall as much as she could. "Demeter was talking to me. She was different than usual, though."

"Different how?" Nico asked suspiciously. "Every time I see her in the Underworld, she tells me I need to eat more cereal and that Persephone is too good for my dad."

Katie nodded. "That's usually how our conversations go, too. But this time, she seemed more…motherly. More caring. She looked different, too. Her hair was blonde and she kind of held herself…like…"

Travis poked Katie's arm, making her glare at him.

"She held herself like Hera, when we saw her yesterday," Katie continued, looking uncertain. "It was weird. She was calmer than usual and seemed strong…not that Demeter wasn't strong before, of course."

Travis shrugged. "Well, they are sisters. They'd have to be a little similar, right?"

"Not really," Nico answered, shaking his head. "All of the gods are so different. They've had millennia to differentiate themselves from each other." He was about to point out that his father wasn't exactly similar to Travis's father when the hairs on his body tensed.

Katie and Travis glanced at him. Danny had his back to the three of them and was staring off into the sky. Nico had a bad feeling about something; was it a monster? He wasn't sure, but he was sure about one thing: Danny was _not_ ready to see and fight a monster, even if he thought he was. The poor guy would probably start crying and then Ares would smite his son on the spot.

Nico gripped his sword. Travis gave him a curious look but pulled his own sword out as well. Did this feeling have something to do with Nico being the son of Hades; were they about to deal with some undead warriors?

Because if they were, Travis figured, that would be pretty freaking awesome.

"Ah!" Katie screamed, scrambling to hide behind Travis. Something had appeared right next to her—no, some_one_.

"What—" Nico's voice faltered. Standing right in front of them, somewhat transparent but still muscular as ever, was Charles Beckendorf.

Ω

Katie wondered if the Mist made mortals see dead people as non-transparent, living beings. She hoped so, or else it would look like Travis was hugging air.

"_Beckendorf_!" he screamed, lunging forward. He tackled the son of Hephaestus, who laughed and patted him on the back. "How—why—oh, man, this is great! How are you? You made it to Elysium, didn't you? How are things there? Is there a lot of gold? I heard Hades really likes gold. Is that true, Nico?"

Beckendorf released the hyperactive son of Hermes. He nodded at Nico, gave a small smile to Katie, and didn't even acknowledge Danny, who had passed out on the grass when he saw him.

"I am in Elysium," he clarified in his deep voice. Katie was in shock. How was he here? She'd never been particularly close to Beckendorf, but she knew who he was. He was a legend at Camp Half-Blood when he was still alive; he could fix just about anything, could kill any monster, and everyone looked up to him. Even Mr. D never messed up Beckendorf's name.

"How are you out?" Nico asked him. He'd spoken to Beckendorf once after he died, but that had been in the Underworld. The dead weren't supposed to be able to go back into the world unless they were granted special permission by Hades, or… "Oh, no," he muttered. "The Doors?"

Beckendorf nodded solemnly. "An insane amount of people are leaving the Underworld. Monsters who should never leave Tartarus, people from Punishment are sneaking into Elysium…" He looked oddly hopeful at his last sentence. After a moment of thought, Katie's brown eyes widened in shock.

"Silena didn't make it to Elysium?" she gasped, feeling her heart drop. Silena had always been so nice to her. She made up for being a spy for Luke and Kronos; if Luke got to go to Elysium, then Silena definitely should have also. "She died a hero!"

"I know," Beckendorf said gruffly. It was obviously not a topic of choice for him. "I even went to bargain with the judges, but Midas wouldn't budge. It's not…" His voice broke for a moment. "It's not fair. I was waiting for her."

Nico gazed at Beckendorf sadly. He had tried to persuade his father to let Silena into Elysium, because if anyone deserved happiness, it was Beckendorf. Unfortunately, Hades deemed her death not "heroic" enough and pushed Luke into Elysium without question.

Beckendorf sat on the grass, looking so broken and sad that Travis's smile was immediately wiped off his face. He'd always imagined what it would be like to see his fallen friends again; he and Connor would steal some soda and snacks from the mortal world, and they would all gather in the Hermes cabin and act like nothing was wrong. This was the opposite of what he wanted.

"Uh, Beckendorf," Nico said uncertainly. "I can talk to my dad about Silena again, but…did you have a set location you wanted to visit, or did you just end up here by choice?"

Beckendorf straightened. "I can watch everything that happens here from the Underworld," he told them. "I'm trying to talk to everyone that's looking for Percy. I don't want to mess up fate or anything, but don't look for him."

That made Katie freeze. _Don't_ look for Percy? That made no sense. She knew that Percy was with Beckendorf when he had died, but she didn't think a guy like Beckendorf would hold a grudge over someone like Percy. They were both some of the nicest heroes she'd ever met.

"Why?" Travis asked. "Annabeth and Chiron told us we need to find him."

"They can't see what's happening all around the country," Beckendorf pointed out. He sighed. Travis figured being dead could be a lot of stress. "Everything will work out for you guys. It always does, doesn't it?" He gave a wry, ironic smile. Everything had not worked out for him, after all.

Katie desperately wanted to argue. They had two things to do on this quest; find more demigods and find Percy. Even if they couldn't do both, she at least wanted to try. Gardners didn't give up; they were full of fortitude.

She looked at Travis and knew he was thinking the same thing. Both of them wanted to prove themselves to Camp; Nico was already spoken rather highly of, being a son of the Big Three and having helped immensely during the battle in Manhattan. If he died, it would definitely change the future. If Katie herself died, she figured Miranda would cry and that was it.

"We can't just go back without him," Katie said, not wanting to argue too much. "We'll let the whole camp down! What if Percy's dying right now?"

"He's okay," Beckendorf told her, giving a small smile. "Besides, do you guys think you're the only ones out looking for Percy? There's herds of wood nymphs and remaining satyrs under Grover's order to protect them. Chiron organized a few more teams from Camp to search the Midwest and the East Coast while you guys are here. I need to go warn them to stop, also."

Nico's brain was working overtime. He recalled something his father had once told him when he was upset about Bianca's death: "_You'll have another sister one day._" That was impossible, unless Hades was planning on breaking the oath of the Big Three to no longer have children. He recalled something his mother and father had been arguing about; Hades had just gotten back from New Orleans, and Maria had asked if she was fighting with him or Pluto.

Nico was a smart boy, and he knew it too. When he met Beckendorf's knowing gaze, he knew he was right; the gods had Roman aspects too, and they were completely different people in their Roman form. That was why Hera, or Juno, had appeared differently. That was why Demeter, or Ceres, seemed more motherly toward Katie.

He shook his head. More motherly? He was already giving more positive attributes to the gods' Roman forms. Nico was a son of Hades, a Greek; he felt an odd urge to defend the Greeks as much as possible.

"Thanks, Beckendorf," he told the dead boy, who nodded. Nico looked at Travis and Katie, who wore equal expressions of confusion. "Guys, I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Travis asked, looking upset. He pointed to Beckendorf. "You didn't do anything to help us! You just told us to stop half our quest! I wanted to party with you and everyone back at Camp, like the old days before…" His voice trailed off, and he waved his hand. "Never mind."

Beckendorf looked saddened by Travis's outburst. "I miss the old days, too," he admitted. "But, you know, that's life." Travis winced at the irony of that statement.

"Wait," Katie mused, studying Nico. "Why are you apologizing? You're not going to kill us or anything, are you?" That had been her biggest fear when she learned the son of death was going on a quest with her.

Nico took a deep breath. "I think I know how to find Percy." At this, Travis and Katie looked hopeful, but they frowned when he continued. "I need to go alone. I have to leave you guys." He was already slowing down his breath and focusing on a chosen location to shadow travel to.

"What?" Katie demanded shrilly. "Nico, you can't just leave! You signed up for this quest! That's against the rules!"

"Gods, Katie, it's okay to break the rules sometimes," Travis told her. She whirled around.

"You want Nico to leave? He's actually helpful, unlike you!"

"How in _Hades_ can you say that? I busted my butt saving your life!"

"Danny carried me and _Nico_ told you what to feed me! We can't let him go!"

"I didn't say we had to let him go! You're putting words in my mouth!"

"I _hate_ you!"

"I hate you more!"

The two stopped arguing long enough to notice that Danny was stirring, Beckendorf was gone, and Nico had vanished into the shadows.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry nothing really happened. I'm in school right now and super rushed! Please review! If you have any ideas for the next chapter let me know. If I like them I'll try and incorporate it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I have so many good ideas for this story throughout my day, and when I finally get home and onto my laptop, half of them just…disappear. Hopefully I've remembered enough of them to make this a good chapter! Reviews are always read and appreciated!**

**Disclaimer: I only own this story.**

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><p>CHAPTER SIX<p>

Katie was a good person. She was even so prideful as to say she was a _great_ person.

So why, for Zeus's sake, had Nico left her alone with Travis Stoll? That was probably the worst punishment anyone could inflict on her, and that included watching her plants be killed in front of her. She would rather spare a few flowers than listen to Travis try and teach Danny how to hold a sword.

"No, no, no," Travis sighed, sounding frustrated. "You have to turn your wrist when you do this specific move, or else your opponent disarm you, and you'll be dead within seconds. Got it?" After a few more unsuccessful attempts, it was clear that Danny did not have it.

Katie rolled her eyes at the two. It was obvious that Travis had never had to teach or help his siblings with anything difficult; he either made Connor do it or just let them figure it out by themselves. That was what the Hermes kids did; if you couldn't keep up, you got left behind. Katie thought her way of teaching her siblings—actually going to practice with them and demonstrating them slowly outside of class—was much more efficient.

Travis noticed her scoffing at him. "If you think this is so boring, Katherine, maybe you'd like to show Danny some moves. Which you obviously don't have."

"Excuse me? Who's the one who dislocated their shoulder in the battle?" Katie snapped, walking over to them. "It definitely wasn't me! I walked out of the battle with just a few bruises."

"Because you didn't do anything to help!" Travis argued back. He was so sick of Katie thinking of herself as superior to him. All of the Demeter kids were like that. They were all overprotective brats who only got their hands dirty when they were gardening. Travis thought that this his siblings—who could actually hold a sword by age ten and use cunning techniques to escape monsters—were much better.

Katie didn't have any words to reply. She didn't do anything to help? Is that really what he thought? She'd turned the tunnels into a freaking jungle in a matter of minutes and slayed over ten giants in one day. She also made sure that all of her siblings came out alive, which was an extremely difficult task.

She looked over to Danny, who looked highly uncomfortable. She beckoned for him to hand over the sword he was practicing on. He did so without arguing.

"I can kick your butt, Stoll," she muttered, gripping the weapon tightly. It was a little lighter than what she was used to using, but it would do fine in proving Travis wrong. "First one to admit defeat wins."

"Why, Katherine," Travis mused, raising his own sword, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

The two of them flew at each other, and in less than five seconds, sparks were flying from their swords clashing. Katie cursed to herself when she remembered that Travis was a brother to Luke, who had been the camp's greatest sword fighter and probably still would be if he was alive, but she didn't let it bother her. She lunged forward and hit her sword flat against Travis's, and was about to easily flick her wrist and disarm him, when she heard laughing and her name being called.

She tried to hold her hand up to Travis to let him know something was wrong, but it was too late. He pushed the sword out of her hands, and, not expecting her to give in so easily, accidentally let the sword cut a deep gash on the side of her stomach, right above her hip.

"_iIlíthios_!" she yelped, falling to her knees. A searing pain erupted on her side, and she felt blood dripping down her hip and onto her jeans.

Travis tossed his own sword to the side and kneeled down beside Katie, worried. _This_ is what he got for getting mad at her? Could he not express his emotions without having her get injured?

"I'm so sorry, I really am," he stammered, quickly tugging off his tee shirt. The slight breeze in the air was cold against his abdomen, but he couldn't care less. He wrapped the shirt up and lifted Katie's up slightly, pressing the fabric against the cut. She took the shirt from him, obviously not wanting his help. Travis understood; he wouldn't want his own help either.

Danny, by now, had apparently learned something from Travis. He had dug through Katie's backpack, found a small canteen halfway full of nectar, and tossed it to Katie. She effortlessly caught it with one hand, screwed the cap off, and took small sips, all while pressing Travis's shirt against her cut. The son of Hermes sat silently beside her, embarrassed, ashamed, and angry at himself. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if Katie kept getting hurt.

Wait. Yes he could; he definitely could live with himself. What was he saying? Maybe it was just the guilt speaking.

"It's not really your fault," she said quietly. The blood had dried, and she began to dig through her backpack for some gauze. "I got distracted. I'm not that bad at sword fighting, just to let you know." She gave him a small smile, and he grinned back. Maybe he didn't have to feel so bad after all.

"What did you get distracted by?" Travis asked. If something had distracted Katie Gardner, it was definitely dangerous.

Katie shrugged. "It sounded like…evil, manic laughter. Some guy."

Travis nodded. "He probably wants to kill us."

Katie casually bandaged her cut. "I'm surprised he hasn't tried yet."

Danny stared at the two in shocked repulsion, probably wondering how they could be so accepting of someone wanting them dead.

"Little demigods," a man's voice called. Travis's hairs tensed, and he reached for his sword. He stood up, standing at Katie's back, defending her. Even though she had drank some nectar, she was in no shape to be fighting just yet.

The three demigods looked in front of them. A huge, muscular man with dark sunglasses and a black leather vest crossed his arms, staring at them. Travis thought he looked like a motorcyclist, and was surprised when he saw a decorative war chariot behind the man. It had pictures of bloody fights sculpted on the sides, and Travis knew immediately that this guy was _not_ here to help them.

Katie reached for her sword and kept it by her side. She could barely stand, let alone fight, but she supposed it was better to die with a sword in your hand than it sitting uselessly two feet away.

The man grinned. "You're terrified," he stated bluntly with a slight country accent. "Terror is swimming through your veins right now!"

"Pretty sure blood is, but whatever," Travis muttered. The man was right, though; he _was_ terrified. He wouldn't be so worried if Katie wasn't injured and Danny could actually hold a sword, but they couldn't. He was the only one in fighting shape right now, and the motorcyclist guy had a good seventy pounds (of muscle) on him.

"You're going to insult the god of terror right before he kills you?" the man snarled, and a huge silver hatchet appeared in his hand. Travis gulped. Percy had always told him that insulting gods made them a little distracted, but this obviously wasn't the case with this guy. Insulting him made Travis slightly more terrified.

Katie coughed and glanced at Danny. "It's your brother," she told him, recalling old stories that Clarisse used to boast about. "Deimos, the god of terror."

Deimos grinned. "Exactly! I heard through the grapevine that you all were looking for a certain son of Poseidon. I encountered him last year."

"And he beat you," Travis finished. He winced when Deimos snarled and a golden sword appeared in his other hand.

"You're supposed to have a twin brother," Katie told the god. She surprised herself with a strong, steady voice, when in reality, she was terrified of the god of terror. He _made_ you feel scared. "Phobos, the god of fear. Where is he?"

Deimos didn't answer. Instead, he swung back his arm that was holding a sword, and threw it directly at Katie. It would have impaled her face in if Travis hadn't jumped over her and hit Deimos's sword away with his own. The impact of the sword hitting his made Travis stumble back. He cursed to himself. Deimos was most likely a son of Ares, which meant he would either fight until he could no longer move or someone else intervened. They would have to make a deal.

Travis cursed to himself again. Connor was usually the more cunning, persuasive one of the two; where was he when you needed him?

"You're a son of Ares, right?" Travis asked Deimos, who had grabbed a javelin with a flaming tip out of his chariot. "This here is Danny. He's also a son of Ares."

"Really?" Deimos mused, turning to face his half-brother. Danny visibly gulped, which made Deimos sneer. "Not much of one, I guess. Demigods are just getting weaker and weaker throughout the years. Say 'boo' in the dark and they're all terrified!" He sounded outraged.

"I'll make a deal with you," Travis bargained, holding his sword in front of him. "If I beat you in a duel, you have to swear on the River Styx that Danny can take your chariot back to Camp Half-Blood."

Deimos scoffed. "Do you really think I would be that stupid, demigod? You would just make the rules up yourself!"

"I'll make up the rules," Katie offered. Once Travis had spoken, she knew what he was up to. She'd dealt with him for six years; she knew how he tricked people. "The duel will go on for five minutes. Whoever's gotten more points wins; it's simple. If Travis loses, you get to beat him with your fists and put your worst curse on him—"

Travis shifted. "Uh, Gardner—"

"—and if Deimos loses, Danny gets to take this chariot back to Camp Half-Blood."

Deimos laughed, but the sound wasn't happy; it was full of venom and vengeance. He nodded easily. "I swear on the River Styx." He rummaged through his chariot. "What kind of duel, little demigod? A long jump contest? Javelin throwing? I will best you in all categories of competitions!"

Travis cracked his knuckles and threw his sword down. "No way, Deimos. We're doing this Apollo-style. Whoever can get the most rhymes out of one word wins!" Katie frowned for a minute, but smirked when Deimos glared at her. She honestly expected something a little more creative out of Travis, but this would work too. He was one of the most talkative people she had ever met in her life.

"No problem, coward," Deimos snarled, throwing his weapons down. "Apollo is my uncle! Surely I have inherited his best features, what few of them there are." He looked to Katie. "What is the word?"

"The word…plant," Katie blurted. She internally groaned. Travis would never let her live that one down. She offered to count for Deimos, and Danny reluctantly agreed to count for Travis.

When Katie said 'go,' Travis and Deimos launched themselves into the most intense word battle Katie had ever experienced (actually, she'd never experienced one before. This was new.)

"Plant, rant, chant, can't, slant—" Travis babbled.

"Shan't, pant, scant, ant—" Deimos fired back.

Katie's mind was whirring. She didn't know it was possible to think of so many rhymes. She stopped the time early at three minutes because their voices were getting so loud.

"Deimos had thirty-seven," she announced, and the son of Ares puffed his chest out confidently.

"Um, Travis had forty-one," Danny mumbled. "He wins."

"YES!" Travis screamed, pumping his arms in the air like a little kid. "Connor always beats me in this game. Now I can say I beat a god!" After a second, his eyes widened excitedly. "Does that mean Connor would totally crush Deimos?"

Katie rolled her eyes. Gods, why had Nico left her? Speaking of him, where _was_ he? She couldn't think about him now, though. Deimos looked extremely angry and was probably about to break his oath.

But the son of Ares just glared at them, muttered something about the earth rising soon, called his brother a wimp, and disappeared with the sound of terrified screams. Katie figured most of Ares's kids were like that.

"Well, Danny boy," Travis sighed contentedly, patting the chariot. "Hop in. Go to Long Island in New York. Look for Camp Half-Blood. Don't die. Tell them Katherine and I sent you and that we're doing fine."

Danny nervously climbed in the chariot. He gave the two other demigods a shy smile before pressing a button, and the chariot launched itself into the air.

"That was impressive, Stoll," Katie admitted. She stood up, carefully holding her side. "And I'm sorry about being so mean to you earlier."

"I'm sorry too, Katherine," Travis told her. He wanted to reach over and hug the daughter of Demeter, but he'd been strangled before by vines, and that was not fun. "Well, we have no further information, Percy's still missing, all of our nectar is gone, and you can barely walk."

"All in a day's work," Katie agreed, laughing slightly. "I wonder where Nico went. I hope he's okay."

Travis rolled his eyes. "That kid's always been weird, you know? That was really rude of him to just leave. What if we died? I bet he'd feel bad then."

"He's good, though," Katie argued, feeling like she had to defend him. "He'll find something useful."

"He better." Travis rummaged through his backpack. "Well, we could start going through the middle of America and back to the east coast."

"Coast to coast in a few weeks," Katie mused. "That's pretty impressive, especially for demigods."

"It is, isn't it?" Travis agreed. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and his arm over Katie's shoulders. She was going to push him off but found that he was surprisingly supportive. "Let's go. I have a feeling this isn't over yet."

Ω

Travis wondered why his dad appeared to him in dreams and not in person, like a normal father would. Although, Hermes was never really a normal father, was he? You could take one look at his caduceus with laughing snakes on it and deduce he wasn't normal.

"Travis," he said, sounding rushed. "Did you see Jun…Hera? You saw her?"

Travis froze. He had almost forgotten about watching the goddess get kidnapped. "Um, yessir, Dad, Hermes…Father. What do you want me to call you?"

"I am Mercury," the god sighed sadly. He shook his head. "You'll understand later, Travis. Where did Hera disappear to?"

"Somewhere in California," Travis answered vaguely. He looked around. "Whoa, am I on Olympus right now?"

"No, you're on a train with Demeter's daughter headed for Ohio," Hermes answered flatly. "_I'm_ on Olympus."

Travis frowned. His dad was usually more jovial, but he supposed Zeus wasn't the happiest right now with his wife missing. Although Hera could be pretty mean sometimes; some gods probably weren't too disappointed, like Hephaestus. Travis thought of Beckendorf, and his chest tightened.

"You need to get back to Camp as quick as possible, once you find a few more demigods," Hermes warned his son. Already, the dream was fading. "Zeus needs Hera to anchor him. Olympus is a mess, and half the gods want your head."

Ω

Travis awoke with a start, looking around. It was daytime, and he was in a train car next to Katie. A few other people were scattered around and paid no attention to the two teenagers who looked like they'd just been jumped.

"Nightmare?" Katie whispered. She was paler than usual, so Travis figured she'd had one.

"Not really," Travis answered. "More like…advice. We should get off at the next stop and look for more half-bloods. Zeus is pretty mad we let his wife get captured."

Katie's nostrils flared. Travis ignored that and stuffed some water bottles into his backpack, then he wrapped an arm around Katie, and they hopped off the train as soon as possible.

"Any more advice?" she asked Travis.

"We need to kiss," he blurted. He had no idea where it came from, but once he said it, there was no taking it back. Besides, pressing his lips against Katie's soft pink ones wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Katie looked uncertain, but she didn't know what to believe. The last few days had been pretty weird, so she shrugged and pressed her lips to Travis's. Maybe Aphrodite was protecting them from Zeus or something. After a few seconds, she pulled away, and frowned at Travis's happily dazed grin.

"I was kidding. No one told me to kiss you," he admitted. He had liked the kiss. _He had liked the kiss_. He had just kissed his arch nemesis; what was Hades going on?

Travis took off running, laughing as Katie followed him, screaming threats that would make Ares wince. This quest wasn't turning out to be half-bad.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry for the longish wait! I hope I make up for it in the longest chapter yet. Hope you enjoy! Reviews are always read and appreciated!**

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><p>CHAPTER SEVEN<p>

Travis thought that a nice kiss would ease the tension between him and Katie, but gods of Olympus, was he wrong. Not only was she fuming about him kissing her, but then everything he did was more annoying to her than usual.

He doodled with a pen on a napkin he had snatched off the train, and Katie complained that it was pointless because the napkin kept ripping. He hummed a few Pink Floyd songs and Katie told him there was a reason he wasn't Apollo's son. He offered her his sweatshirt and she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

There was just no pleasing her now. Why had he even kissed her? It hasn't been a bad kiss; in fact, it had been pretty good. Who knew, though? This was Katie Gardner. Travis knew that her sister Miranda, her best friend, didn't even understand Katie sometimes.

"We can sleep here tonight," Katie said, not looking at Travis. "The grass is freshly cut, so there won't be too many bugs or weeds. And in the morning, those trees over there will give us some shade, and the ground don't be too wet with dew."

"Cool," Travis replied, which earned him an eye roll. He leaned back, surprised. What had he done?

He set his backpack down and sat on the grass. Katie mimicked him and did the same, although she sat at least ten feet away from him.

"I have a drachma," she told Travis, rummaging through her bag. "Who should we Iris-message?"

"Oh, I need to talk to Connor," Travis answered immediately. "We had a prank for Ares involving strawberries, and the ones we stole...er, picked from the fields are going to mold soon."

Katie glared at Travis. "That's where the missing baskets went?" she demanded, raising an eyebrow. "Travis, you stole over three pounds of strawberries from us! Do you know how long it takes to pick strawberries?"

Travis shrugged. "Nope."

Katie groaned. She brought out a small shard of glass and her drachma. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me Connor Stoll, son of Hermes. Camp Half-Blood."

Travis cautiously walked over to crouch behind Katie. She didn't slap him, so he figured he was okay. The glass shimmered in the sunlight and Connor's smiling face appeared in it.

"Ew," Travis greeted. "How are things, little brother?"

"Okay," Connor answered, his smile fading. "Not okay, actually. Annabeth and some buff guy got a hint at Percy, so they're going to...the Grand Canyon, I think. I'm not sure."

"What's everyone else doing?" Katie asked.

"We're trying to prepare for...well, whatever's happening," Connor sighed. Travis frowned. In just a few weeks, his little brother looked much older. "The Curse of Cabin Nine is so bad, though. Jake made me a sword last week, and the second it hit Sherman's, it exploded into flames. The Aphrodite girls are all following Drew, which means that they're actually not doing anything, so all the buildings are filthy. The Athena cabin got cursed by the Apollo cabin for some reason, so they're all speaking in rhymes and they sound even nerdier than before." He shuddered. Then he looked expectantly at Katie and Travis. "How are you guys?"

"We've found three demigods and sent them back to Camp," Katie answered obediently. Travis wanted to roll his eyes. When it came to announcing her own achievements, Katie was the most prideful person he knew. "We were on the west coast for awhile and saw Hera get kidnapped—"

"Oh!" Connor interrupted, looking worried. "Yeah, we got word of that. Zeus is super angry, and apparently there's a bunch of tension on Olympus." His eyes widened. "Wait, you saw it? You were there? Hades, Travis, the gods are out to get you!"

Katie whipped around to glare at Travis. "I told you we should worry! This is not good!"

"Where's Nico?" Connor suddenly asked, trying to see behind Katie. "Some Hecate kids stole the fire from the front of his cabin. Thought he'd like to know."

Katie shuffled uncomfortably, realizing that their achievements on this quest weren't that great. It had taken them almost two weeks to find three demigods, they'd lost a member of their quest, they watched a goddess get captured, and had made many gods upset. That wasn't something to brag about. Also, Travis had kissed her! It hadn't been a bad kiss; in fact, it had been nice, actually. But it was Travis Stoll; Katie hated him, right?

Travis looked uncomfortable, too. He cleared his throat. "Nico...found something, so he went to go check that out. He's fine. I hope."

Connor's jaw dropped. Then he shook his head, chuckling. "Well, you two will be in a huge amount of trouble when you get back here. Good luck! I'll tell Chiron you said hello!" The image disappeared.

Katie glared at Travis. "That was such a waste of a drachma! He didn't even tell us anything!"

"Hey, that's my brother," Travis warned. "He told us how things are at Camp. He's doing more than your siblings!"

"My siblings aren't even at Camp right now!"

"Exactly!"

Katie huffed. Travis was, unfortunately, right. While the demigods at Camp were training harder than ever and fretting, her siblings were with their mortal parent, going to school, and probably didn't even know that Percy was missing. Katie envied them.

The tree next to them suddenly began to vibrate and shake. Katie hopped up, wondering what kind of tree nymph was about to kill them, and Travis pulled out his sword. He really hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

His hope came true; Nico di Angelo coughed, stumbled forward, and grinned sheepishly at them.

"Hey guys," he said, catching his breath. "I have some news."

Ω

Nico wasn't allowed to tell them everything he had found out. All he told them was that Percy was alive but didn't have his memories. Then, explaining that he would be exterminated in a second if the gods found out he knew this, he made them swear to secrecy.

"Yeah, yeah," Travis drawled, leaning against the tree. "I won't tell."

"I'm serious," Nico deadpanned, looking scared. "If you go back to Camp, you can't tell them what I just told you."

"If '_you'_ go back to Camp?" Katie asked, looking at the son of Hades. "What, you're planning on leaving us _again_? Do you realize what happened while you were gone? Travis had a rhyming battle with the god of terror and then he _kissed_ me!"

Nico looked surprised for a moment, but once Katie told him Travis had kissed her, he grinned to himself. His debt to Aphrodite was slowly being paid off. Now all he had to do was admit his feelings for Percy...if Percy even remembered him, that was.

Travis rolled his eyes. "Come on, Katherine. Don't deny you didn't love it."

"I didn't!"

Nico sighed. "Guys, listen. I don't want to, but I can't stay with you. I can shadow travel you all to where I'm going, though. Back to California."

Travis groaned. "Gods, I just want to stay in one place for one night. Is that too much to ask for?" But he was already packing up his backpack, knowing that they were going back to California.

Nico stood in between Travis and Katie. He told them to hang out to his backpack, envisioned the warm sun and palm trees near the coast, and they were gone.

Ω

"Nico, this isn't California," Travis stated dumbly, staring at the huge sign in front of him that stated they were in Florida. "Wrong coast entirely."

Katie was kneeling next to Nico, feeding him small pieces of his ambrosia. Shadow traveling two people must have been hard on him, she figured. The thirteen-year-old was wheezing like he was having an asthma attack and was flushed and sweaty.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Nico said once he caught his breath. He shook his head. "I just need practice, I guess. Maybe there's some demigods here, though."

"I don't think so," Katie said. They were on a dock with old-looking boats. A spa was a few feet down, looking oddly clean next to the mucky water. A shiver went down Katie's spine. "On second thought, let's check this place out."

"C.C.'s Spa and Resort," Travis read out loud after a few tries. "Hey, a resort! Let's go!"

"Don't get distracted," Nico warned them. "That place reeks of magic. It might be like the Lotus Casino."

Travis frowned. "So...no resort?"

"We might as well see what's inside," Katie mused. "Maybe C.C. is on our side." She knew that probably wasn't true. What good, kind-hearted person would set up a creepy magical spa along the coast of Florida, right next to the Bermuda Triangle?

Nico wished them luck. Katie whirled on him immediately, telling him he was in no shape to shadow travel all the way to California.

Nico assured her he wouldn't. He would call his hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary, and she would take him to California. Before Katie could protest, he began walking away, and Nico di Angelo had left them again.

Travis was staring at the door, which depicted beautiful woman petting ugly pigs and other rodents. There weren't any guys in the scene, which he thought was a little strange. A ran a hand through his hair, thinking, before he realized that his brown hair was greasy and clumpy. Gross. What would Katie think?

Wait a minute. Why did he care what Katie thought?

"Go in, you idiot," Katie huffed, crossing her arms behind him. "Don't just stand there!"

Travis gave her a mock glare before pushing open the door. He gaped at what he saw. There were beautiful Greek columns embroidered with magical plants and gold detail. The space was open, and through a large opening he could see green gardens and a library that would make Annabeth weak. All around them, pretty girls with elegant braids and white togas milled around.

"Oh, wow," Katie breathed, bending down to touch a plant. "I bet these were blessed by my mother herself."

"You're right, sweetie," a woman chuckled, walking over to them. She had tan skin, elegant-looking makeup, and was wearing colorful robes. "Demeter gave those to me a few millennia ago. They're—"

"Aconite," Katie murmured. "I've never seen one in real life before."

"Well, now you can!" the woman replied jovially. "I'm C.C., darling. You, girl, can do anything you want to do here."

Travis raised his hand. "What about me, boy?"

C.C. studied Travis; she started at his dirty, ripped Converse sneakers and made her way through his wrinkled pants to his white shirt with Katie's blood on it to his mop of greasy hair. Travis figured he probably wasn't making the best impression.

"There's separate activities for boys like you on the other side," she said vaguely, waving her hand. "My building is magic, so it stretches for miles onward, when it looks very tiny on the outside." She turned toward Katie, ignoring Travis. "Why don't we go get you a bath and a massage, and then you can walk through the garden? I'll take your friend here to the men's section."

Katie had a bad feeling about this woman. She racked her brain, trying to think of words that two C's could stand for. Creepy Calypso? Crude Calliope? She couldn't think of anything.

She glanced at Travis. He looked extremely uncomfortable with C.C. feeling and judging his muscles, studying his clothes, and peering into his eyes. She figured that he deserved to suffer, at least for a little while, so she let herself be led away by two smiling girls who assured her that she would just love it here.

Ω

"Oh my gods!"

Katie stared at herself in shock. She looked...well, she didn't want to be too arrogant or prideful, but she could easily pass for a daughter of Aphrodite at the moment. She was freshly bathed and her thick brown hair was straightened and put into a near fishtail braid; she had put lotion on that made her skin soft and seem to glow; her earthy eyes looked warm with the minimal mascara the girls had put on her; the short Greek-style dress she was wearing made her legs look shapely and long. Did the Aphrodite girls feel like this every day? No wonder they didn't want to waste their time sword fighting.

One of the girls who had put on her makeup smiled. "Isn't it amazing, how we can transform so quickly?"

"Yes," the other girl answered, folding her hands dreamily. "It's almost like magic." The two girls giggled together, making Katie slightly uneasy.

She wondered where Travis was. She felt guilty, now that he was gone, that she had been trying to punish him for kissing her. Why had he kissed her, after all? It was probably some prank he had planned, and when—if—they arrived back at Camp, he would tell everybody that Kathie Gardner was a bad kisser and a gullible demigod.

Oh, gods. Katie sighed. That was a highly possible scenario. She could just imagine all of the Aphrodite girls taunting her and trying to make her their personal doll. She'd seen it happen to Annabeth once she had admitted her feelings for Percy; the effects were not pretty. (Well, Annabeth ended up physically looking pretty, but the process to get there was not.)

"Where are the boys?" Katie blurted. She immediately cursed herself. Travis was right; she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

One of the girls waved her hand, as if she couldn't care less. "Somewhere in the other room. Why do you care?" She glanced suspiciously at Katie. "Men are pigs."

"I don't care," Katie replied quickly. "I just need to make sure Travis doesn't idiotically get himself killed somehow. We're on a quest and I would be in so much trouble if I didn't come back with him." As she said that, she realized how true that would be. Everyone's emotions would be at an all-time high because of Percy's disappearance, and if she came back without Nico _and_ Travis…

The other girl leaned forward, interested. Her eyes seemed to gleam. "A quest, really? I never got to go on any one of those when I was at camp."

Katie stared at her blankly. The girl sighed sadly.

"I'm Robyn, daughter of Apollo," she explained, and Katie could suddenly see the resemblance. Robyn had inherited Apollo's bright, fiery eyes and quirky mouth. "I was at Camp Half-Blood for about two months after being claimed…well, before I continue, you're from there, right?"

"Um, yes," Katie answered, confused. "Where else would a demigod be from?"

A boom sounded from one of the farther rooms, and the other girl next to Robyn quickly excused herself. Katie held her dagger tightly in the pocket of her dress. Her heart was beating prominently and she felt tingles shoot up her back; it was the feeling she got whenever something bad was about to happen.

"Never mind," Robyn answered. She unbraided her hair and began to redo it. "I was there for two months when I read a philosophy book. It said that life doesn't matter; you're constantly striving for something out of your reach until you die. I realized it was true! So I left Camp, thinking at least my little brother Will would at least Iris message me, but no one even noticed. If you're not head counselor or go on a quest, you're not really a camper. You're just a space filler, a background person…an extra."

Katie's breath hitched. From what Percy had told them years ago, this sounded exactly like Luke Castellan's rant about the gods before he worked for Kronos. She gripped her dagger so tightly that her knuckles became sore and she was forced to loosen her grip.

"I found myself here, and C.C. granted me immortality, as long as I worked for her," Robyn continued. "We're not on anyone's side, per say. That little battle you guys had in Manhattan? We didn't participate."

"_Little_?" Katie shrieked, remembering too many shrouds that had to be burned, too many faces with tears marring their cheeks, too many hardships that the teenaged campers had to go through. "Friends died! The youngest camper to go was nine years old! That's not _little_, Robyn."

Robyn suddenly looked worried as Katie's breathing began to rapidly quicken. Katie pressed a hand to her side and the other to her head. Her mind was filling with visions of the battle. There were images of her and Miranda, frantically growing the most poisonous plants they could think of; Percy Jackson, calling out the defense system to his home city; the poor mortals, slowly moving and sleeping like nothing was wrong when everything was; Travis and Connor, looking somehow gleeful as they slashed at monsters and had spit and blood sprayed on them…

She fell over on the ground. Tears were running down her face and she was screaming while thinking, _What am I doing? What's going on?_

"She's having a panic attack!" Robyn yelled. "Girls, Circe, come here! Help me!"

Katie's eyes widened when she remembered the stories about Circe, and then they closed as she passed out.

Ω

Travis shook his head again. C.C. was offering him magical drinks and delicious-looking food, and even though Travis hadn't eaten in nearly twenty hours, he knew better than to take things from a large woman who knew the gods. That never ended up well.

"Look in the mirror, Travis," C.C. ordered. Travis complied. He didn't see anything different; sure, he had taken a bath in a seriously nice gleaming tub, so his skin was glowing and he looked very clean, but other than that, everything was the same. His muscles were nicely defined by the gray tee shirt he had been provided, and his hair looked as great as ever. He looked _good_.

"Sorry, but I really don't see any difference," he sighed. "No drink or food will make me any hotter than I am right now. I really should've been a son of Aphrodite, you know?"

C.C.'s nostrils flared, and her eyes seemed to glow for a minute before she calmed down. "Unbelievable," she murmured, shaking her head. She fiddled with the loom beside her. "Never…in five thousand years…has someone so egotistical and narcissist entered my domain…"

Travis shrugged. He really couldn't help it that he was so good-looking.

Suddenly, a girl started screaming down the hall. It sounded like she was in pain. Travis watched, uninterested, as C.C. jumped and began to exit through the door to see what was going on. He was planning on waiting in the room he was in for C.C. when the scream became shriller. He shivered.

How many times had he heard that voice; screaming at him to move faster in the breakfast line, screaming at him to stop using so much paper, screaming at him to stop his pranks? Too many times, that was for sure. Katie Gardner was screaming in pain down the hallway.

An odd, unwanted, protective feeling developed in Travis's chest. He didn't mind causing pain and annoyance to Katie, but that was his job and no one else's. What were those freaky girls doing to her? It couldn't have been a boy, because Travis had seen none since they arrived. He leaped up and began to run after C.C. when the door slammed shut and locked itself. He screamed a curse and kicked the door.

"Hey, she's my friend!" Travis shouted, banging on the door. Katie's screaming and crying had ceased, but who was to say she was okay? He carefully studied the room. There wasn't anything special; just the loom, a few paintings, and a cage of silent guinea pigs. There was nothing he could use to quickly pick the lock on the door; his trusty pick was in his pants that had been taken from him during his bath. "C.C., whoever you are, let me _out_!"

He kicked the door one more time, and when his foot felt the impact of the door, his vision went white and he fell over, coughing. It was almost as if the door had pushed him back.

He stood up and lunged, preparing to throw himself at the door again when he frowned. He was in a different room with much more décor and detail than a few guinea pigs; this room had a ping pong table, framed pictures, papers tacked to the wall, and most importantly, fifteen teenagers and a centaur staring back at him.

Holy Hades. He was in the Big House at Camp Half-Blood.

"TRAVIS!" Connor shouted loudly, making most of the campers wince. They stared at Travis in shock as Connor bounded from his seat and wrapped his older brother in a hug. He stepped back and studied Travis. "How did you get here, dude? Where's Katie-Cat?"

"Travis—" Chiron said, but he got cut off.

"How am I here?" Travis demanded, spinning around. It wasn't a dream. He really was back home, without two of his quest members. One was weakly shadow traveling and the other was possibly dead. "Katie and I were in Florida! We were at this magical place, and there was a woman C.C., and she locked me in a room while Katie was screaming and I kicked the door and when I kicked it a third time I fell over and now I'm h—"

"Slow down," Clarisse demanded. She had dark bags under her eyes and it looked like she hadn't showered in days. Travis figured that was her best look. "You're giving me a headache. Gardner can handle herself for a few minutes. Where's di Angelo? Did you get a lead on Percy?"

"Katie could be dead!" Travis argued, hating Clarisse more than he already did.

"A lot of us could be dead," Will informed him, crossing his arms. "There are almost as many people in the infirmary as the battle. It's insane."

"Okay, fine," Travis sighed. He was disappointed that only his brother was at least somewhat happy to see him, but he knew that everyone was stressed and dealing with their own problems. Most of them had probably forgotten he was on a quest. He decided to break up his story into basic sentences, since each one would definitely cause unpleasant reactions.

"After sending back the two twins of Apollo, Katie, Nico, and I saw Hera get swallowed up by the earth in California." Gasps and whispers broke out among the few teenagers, and although he looked extremely shocked when Travis mentioned the location, Chiron stamped his hoof and nodded at the son of Hermes to continue.

"The Underworld doors are open, meaning monsters and the dead can come back here. Beckendorf…we talked to him. It was crazy, dude. He, um, he told us that they could watch us in the Underworld, and he said it was pointless to look for Percy because things will work out." Travis almost jumped up at everyone's reactions. People looked sad when he mentioned the old head counselor for Cabin Nine, especially Jake and Chiron, and then they looked shocked at the mention of Percy.

Clarisse scoffed. "This is great. I sent my brother out to look for that stupid piece of kelp." She glared at Travis like it was his fault, but he understood. Everyone needed someone to blame for all these problems. When he had found out Luke was the betrayer of the camp, he had blamed Chiron, Annabeth, Hermes, and even himself before he realized he had no one to blame but Luke.

Travis hesitated. "Um, Clarisse, you might want to hear this," he said quietly. "Silena didn't make it to Elysium. She's in Asphodel, I think, not Punishment, but she didn't die a—"

"Don't even say what I _think_ you're about to say," Clarisse whispered, her voice quieter than Travis had ever heard it but somehow the harshest tone she'd ever used. "Don't you _dare_ say she didn't die a hero, Stoll. You weren't _there_. You _weren't_ there. _You_ weren't…" She shook her head, and for the first time in his seventeen years of living, Travis saw a tear make its lonely way down Clarisse's cheek.

"I'm sorry," Travis said, but the apology sounded bland to him, so it probably sounded sarcastic to Clarisse. "After that, Nico left, saying he knew how to find Percy. We met up with him in Ohio, and he shadow traveled us to Florida, where he left again. That's where Katie and I met C.C., whoever that really is, and then I somehow ended up here."

Chiron was silent for a long moment. He stroked his beard, sighed, closed his eyes, trotted in a circle, and repeated the actions five times before dismissing everyone except Travis. The son of Hermes gulped as he stood alone with the centaur.

"You can't go back," Chiron said suddenly. "It is much too dangerous, Travis. One of our groups looking for Percy in Georgia can try and find Katie." Travis wanted to scream. No one could even say the son of Poseidon's name without hesitating or looking sad, but they all acted as if Katie disappearing were fine. That wasn't fair.

"What? No, I'm looking for her," Travis insisted. "Chiron, please. I'll feel terrible if something happens to her or Nico. It's not fair that I get to come back home safely and they're out there fighting for their lives."

"You don't know that they are, child," Chiron pointed out. Travis bit on his tongue to keep from arguing that he was going to be eighteen in less than a year, but he decided against it.

He trudged over to Cabin Eleven. Usually at nighttime, his siblings and the unclaimed demigods were listening to loud music, searching for lost items, gloating over newly acclaimed items, arguing, eating, and definitely not sleeping. Now, though, as he entered, he was met with darkness and silence. He flicked on the lights to see everyone in their bed or sleeping bag, either asleep or avoiding eye contact with him. Connor nodded at him before rolling on his side.

Travis sighed. He felt terrible. He missed Katie; yes, he missed her. She was going to hate him for this. He didn't care, as long as she ended up alive and okay.

He climbed into his bed, enjoying the comfort of a real mattress. Then he immediately felt guilty, thinking about Beckendorf, who would never get another good night's rest; Nico, who was probably passed out under a tree somewhere, exhausted from shadow traveling; and Katie, who was either being tortured by those creepy girls or about to die on the glass floor of C.C.'s spa. It wasn't fair that he got to easily sleep in his own cabin next to his own brother, alive. But he was tired.

Travis fell asleep thinking about going against Chiron's orders and the fact that his own father was the god of liars and, coincidentally, travelers.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yay for really predictable cliffhangers! (sarcasm) I do apologize for all the dialogue. I had to include it, you know? R&R!  
><strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So sorry for the long wait! I actually really do not like this chapter. I had no ideas or inspiration and wrote it in about twenty minutes. There's also one swear word in here, so beware. R&R.**

* * *

><p>CHAPTER EIGHT<p>

Despite the fact that one of their most valuable campers was missing and a goddess was kidnapped, the security of Camp Half-Bloods borders was as poor and pathetic as ever. Travis easily snuck by the dragon at the pine tree and hotwired the camp's SUV. It took him a little longer than usual since he couldn't make a lot of noise and Connor wasn't helping him, but within fifteen minutes, he was blaring ACDC and driving to Florida.

Travis hadn't told anyone about his spur-of-the-moment trip to go rescue Katie. No one would have understood; he wasn't sure he did, either. Chiron had specifically told him that a group of demigods meant to look for Percy would try to bring Katie back, but Travis didn't want them to find Katie. He wanted to do it himself.

On his way out of his cabin, Connor had woken up and grabbed his arm. "Dude," he'd said, "Katie can handle herself. You know that. Don't go killing yourself for someone who will make it back alive without your help. What if she's about to get out of there, and you coming just ruins things?"

Travis thought about his younger brother's words as he drove silently on the interstate. His appearance at the wrong time often didn't help; he'd tried many times to barge in to the Big House to try and steer some blame off of Connor only to learn

Connor had convinced Chiron to not punish him, and then both brothers ended up doing double punishment for pranking _and_ lying.

What if Katie was about to stealthily escape, and Travis busted her plan?

"No way," Travis murmured, staring at the traffic in front of him. It was five in the morning, and it looked like rush hour; with his luck, he would probably make it to Pennsylvania in four hours that he didn't have. No cars seemed to be moving at all.

He didn't have any mortal cash, and he would have to wait until daylight to go pickpocketing mortals, so he couldn't take any mode of public transportation. He tried to think of any special demigod ways that could get him to Florida faster. He couldn't; that was really pathetic. His own dad was the god of travelers!

He pounded on the steering wheel. Up ahead, he could vaguely see two cars smoking from a collision. Police sirens blared in the distance, but this was New York; they could be going anywhere.

Travis tried to think of anyone that would help him. No one from Camp could, or else he would get in trouble for leaving; the few mortal friends he had were lazy and wouldn't understand why he needed to go to Florida, and he couldn't exactly tell them that one of his friends was at a magical spa; all of the gods wanted him and Katie dead and definitely wouldn't approve of his plan…

Well, maybe not _all_ the gods.

Travis knew from Beckendorf that Hephaestus didn't like his mother at all. Travis didn't blame him; who would want to please the woman who literally threw him out of the house? He began rummaging through the glove compartment for a piece of glass to Iris message the god of fire. All he found, though, was a pack of tissues, a few drachmas, and a small lighter. He didn't know if it was possible, but he flicked open the lighter, lit a flame, and said, "Um…Hephaestus, if you see me, I could really use your help. Please."

He let his thumb up after a few seconds. How stupid was he? Hephaestus was probably dealing with his own crap on Olympus and didn't notice a teenage boy stuck in traffic.

Suddenly, the car door opened, and someone sat in the passenger seat. Travis was so startled that he stepped on the gas and almost rear-ended the Honda in front of him.

"Careful, Travis," the person chided. "I would hate to see you die before you even get started on finding Katie."

"How—" Travis paused. He glanced over to his right and almost lost his breath. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was casually leaning back in the seat beside him, braiding her blonde hair. Or was it black hair? Or was it brown? Travis couldn't tell. He knew from Silena that Aphrodite changed appearances more than any of the gods, but he didn't think she did it so often.

Aphrodite flashed him a blinding smile. In the dark, early morning, it was a welcome sight. "My husband was a bit busy, so I decided to come help you instead," she explained, tying off her braid. "I'm always willing to bend a few rules to help someone a quest for true love!" She smiled again, but immediately frowned. She shook her head. "Oh, I don't know why I bother. It's not the same…"

"What's not the same?" Travis asked. Then he shook his head; he didn't care. "Lady Aphrodite, you can help me find Katie? Who I don't love, by the way."

Aphrodite shrugged, tossing her braid over her shoulder. "Ah, denial. It's such a careless act, is it not, Travis? Nonetheless, I can't actually transport you to Circe's, but—"

"Who's Circe?" Travis interrupted. Aphrodite ignored him and continued to talk.

"But I can help you with transportation," she finished, snapping her fingers. Suddenly, a shadow appeared to Travis's right, and he looked over in surprise at the biggest turtledove he had ever seen in his life. Its small eyes looked at Travis expectantly as its wings fluttered. "That, Travis, is my sacred animal. Normally, they aren't too keen on flying, but Trygóni here won't mind flying you."

Travis turned back toward the goddess in shock. He was grateful, and since his dad was the god of travelers it wouldn't be too dangerous of a ride, but the Trygóni the turtledove couldn't have been taller than three feet. There was no way he'd be able to carry six foot tall Travis across eight states.

Aphrodite noticed his concern. She assured him that Trygóni could do it and began rummaging in her purse for something.

"I need you to give Katie something," she said. Travis glanced at the turtledove again, concerned that it was going to be run over, but traffic still wasn't moving. It reminded him of when Morpheus had put all the mortals in New York to sleep and everything had slowed down. "It'll make the little scuffle you two had go away. Trust me." She triumphantly held up a small, clear plastic bag of seeds.

Travis carefully took the seeds from the goddess. "Well, yeah, Katie does like her plants," he admitted, tucking the bag in his backpack. "Um…thank you, Aphrodite. I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it!" Aphrodite exclaimed, opening the car door. "Go take Trygóni to Florida, Travis. I'll get this thing you demigods call a car back to your camp."

Travis thanked her again and stepped out of the car. It was slightly cold outside since the sun still hadn't risen, so he pulled his sweatshirt tight against his body as he walked over to Trygóni and carefully straddled him. Trygóni huffed, as if impatient, and Travis awkwardly clung to the bird as it flapped its wings and slowly took off into the air.

_The things I do for you, Katie_, Travis thought. He wondered briefly if she would do the same for him.

Ω

About one hour later, Travis was staring directly at C.C.'s spa. He gripped his sword in his right hand and debated on what to do. What if he barged in there and got captured, and Katie had already escaped? He wished he had had a rainbow to Iris message her and see if she was alright.

Before he could go to the door, it opened, and a pretty girl stepped out. She was wearing white shorts and a white flowing tank camisole, and her dark brown hair cascaded on her tan shoulders. She was carrying a big plotted plant that was at least three feet taller than her, so Travis jogged over to her.

"Hey, do you need any help?" he asked.

The girl turned toward him, and Travis froze.

"Katherine!" he exclaimed, dropping his sword. He was about to hug her but decided against it. "W-what? I thought you were dead or something!"

Katie gave him a confused look. Travis couldn't get over how different she looked with just a little bit of makeup and clothes that weren't marred with plants' dirt.

"You thought I was dead?" she asked, looking amused. "Travis, you were just here yesterday morning. Circe said you left." She bit her lip. "I was…somewhat…worried about you, you know? Where'd you go?"

"I heard you screaming, and C.C.—or, I guess Circe—locked me in some room. I tried to kick down the door but somehow I ended up at Camp Half-Blood," Travis explained.

Katie stared at him in shock. She wanted to ask so many questions. How was Camp? Did anyone try to kill him? Were the gods still angry with them? Were the strawberry fields still growing well?

She settled for the most useless question that ran through her mind. "Is that a giant turtledove behind you?"

"Oh, yeah, just ignore him," Travis answered. Two girls wearing long white togas and their hair in braids stepped out of the door, making him stop talking. They regarded him with a disgusted look and continued walking, smiling at Katie as they passed. "Why do those girls look like they hate me?"

"They probably do," Katie answered. "Circe hates men, Travis. Don't you remember the stories? She turned them into pigs. Now, though, she turns them into guinea pigs."

"Oh my gods!" Travis shouted, thinking of the cage that had been in the room with him. The two girls turned around and glared at him again. He lowered his voice. "Those guinea pigs I saw used to be _people_?"

Katie nodded. She set down the potted plant. "Well, thanks for coming to make sure I'm okay. I guess that means I can't totally hate you." She gave him a wry smile and turned around to go back into the spa.

Travis frowned. Where was she going? They needed to leave this creepy place as soon as possible and head back to Camp while trying to find more demigods. They'd pretty much failed at their original quest, and he wanted to redeem themselves.

"Katie, where are you going?" Travis demanded, waving his sword around. "Come on! We have a quest to complete! We only brought back three demigods, remember?"

Katie spun around angrily. "Travis, I don't want to go with you," she snapped. "Circe's spa is almost like the Hunters of Artemis, except you're not constantly on the go. I'm going to stay here until something else happens, like another war or something. The gardens are so gorgeous, and—"

"You have a garden at Camp Half-Blood!" Travis interrupted. His stomach was twisting. He couldn't let Katie stay here. She had to come home with him. "Katie, seriously, listen to yourself. Don't be stupid!"

"I am _not_ stupid!" Katie replied angrily, marching toward him. She stood right in front of him and looked up into his eyes. "_You're_ the stupid one! You came all this way to get me, Travis. If I really wanted to go back to Camp, I would've."

Travis ran a hand through his hair. How selfish could she get? Did she not realize that he had been worried about her life; he had thought she was dead. He told this to the daughter of Demeter, and somehow, that made her angrier.

"Gods, Travis, I don't need a babysitter. I'm sixteen years old," she sighed. "If you thought I was dead, then why the Hades would you come back to the place where I died? What if _you_ got killed?"

_Leave it to Katie to make me feel stupid_, Travis thought. He really hadn't thought his plan through. All he knew was that Katie needed to come back to Camp Half-Blood, and he had to be the one to bring her back. Even Aphrodite, a goddess of Olympus, had agreed with him.

A wave of anger overcame Travis. He'd risked his life and broken rules to come see if Katie was okay, and she decided that she simply wasn't going to go back with him. He ripped the bag of seeds the love goddess had given him out of his backpack and tossed it to Katie, who, on instinct, caught it effortlessly.

"Hyacinth seeds," she whispered. Suddenly, the daughter of Demeter looked extremely sad, and Travis had the sudden urge to hug her. He shook the thought out of his mind. "Oh my gods, Travis, I'm so sorry, too. I'm such a bitch, you know? I can't help it, though. It's…in my blood…"

'Too'? What was a hyacinth? Travis decided not to ask and instead wrapped one of his arms around Katie, who looked like she was about to cry. "Hey, Katie, don't cry. You're not a bitch. Who said you were?" If it was someone from the Ares cabin, then Travis just had all the more right to pull his and Connor's planned prank on them.

"No one," Katie sighed. "I'm sorry, though. Thanks for the flowers." For the first time in her life, her eyes didn't light up when she admired the seeds. She felt terrible and not like herself at all.

Katie rubbed her face with her hands. Camp Half-Blood was her home; why would she even consider staying somewhere else? Although the haven for demigods was changing even more than she was, she couldn't imagine not spending holidays there with her friends or not playing Capture the Flag every week.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Travis said. Katie gripped her dagger and followed him, knowing that she would need it.

Ω

"You are unbearable sometimes."

"_You're_ the one making me do this!"

"What else are we supposed to do?"

"Not this, Katherine!"

"It's _Katie_!"

Katie and Travis simultaneously huffed. All she wanted the son of the god of thieves to do was to run into a convenience store and grab two sandwiches for them to have for dinner. He stole things all the time; why was this different?

"That place looks sketchy as Hades," Travis explained, staring at the rundown store. "The worker probably has a gun, Katherine. I don't want to get shot. Let's keep looking."

"There's a school," Katie said, pointing at a brick building a few blocks down. It was huge, at least triple the size of the two schools they had previously visited. There was a banner hanging on the main door.

"'Hows Tonight,'" Travis read. "What's a How?"

"It says 'show,'" Katie sighed, rolling her eyes. "It starts in a few minutes and there's a reception after." Her eyes widened. "If we sit through the show, we can eat something at the reception. There may be a demigod here also."

She walked inside the school with Travis trailing close behind. A familiar feeling settled over her, and she relished in it; it was the feeling she got when she was on a mission or quest. It made her know that she had a purpose. She hadn't had this feeling while at Circe's spa.

"Hello, there," a man greeted. He had a slight accent and two mismatched eyes. Katie ignored the uncomfortable feeling rising in her stomach. "Go right on in the theater and get some seats. I'm the director. I just need to reprimand this one here for not memorizing her lines on the night of the show!"

Katie looked at the girl who was standing next to him. She was about twelve years old and looked terrified; Katie would've been, too. She hated getting yelled at.

"Thanks," Travis said. He tried to walk past Katie and enter the auditorium, but she gripped his arm. The man led the young girl away, and Katie's gaze followed them. As the man and girl's backs faced the two demigods, Katie gasped. The man had a long, golden tail sprouting from his back.

Travis noticed what she was staring at. "Come on," he groaned, unsheathing his concealed sword. "I just want to eat."

"We'll eat later," Katie told him, bringing out her dagger. The two of them silently followed the man and girl down a hallway and into a courtyard.

"Why do you need to yell at me out here?" the girl asked quietly, looking at where they were. "I'm really sorry I forgot to memorize my lines—"

"And I'm really sorry your parent conceived you!" the man growled.

Katie winced. That was harsh. She walked toward the man, and when he turned around, she halted. He had uneven patches of fur all over his body suddenly, and his eyes glowed angrily. She suddenly remembered the quest from a few years before when the Hunters had come to Camp. Annabeth had been captured by a manticore, and Katie was willing to bet drachmas that this was the same one.

"Oh, a daughter of Demeter wants to go against me?" the manticore snarled, claws appearing on his hands. "This will be fun."

"Oh, uh, a son of Hermes wants to, too," Travis piped up. Katie rolled her eyes. "Let the girl go, dude."

"We need more demigods on our side," the manticore said, holding his claws to the girl's throat. "Take one step further, half-blood, and her throat gets slit!"

Katie froze. If a child of Apollo had been with them, he or she could've used a bow and arrow and shot the manticore. Unfortunately, she and Travis were both better at hand-to-hand combat fighting, which required you to be close to your opponent. She looked at the ground. She willed the grass to wrap tightly around the manticore's feet to buy them a few minutes of spare time. The grass willingly complied, and the manticore's feet were tightly bound a minute later. He tried to step out of it, but the grass tightened, and he fell onto the ground, releasing his grip on the girl.

Immediately, Travis ran forward and stabbed the manticore's chest with his sword. The girl screamed, and Katie took her hand and started running out of the courtyard with Travis right behind them.

"Where are you taking me? Let me go!" the girl screamed, trying to free herself from Katie's death grip. "Who are you?"

"I'm Travis, and that's Katie," Travis answered. The three of them ran outside and stood on the sidewalk, waiting for a taxi to drive by. "We're going to take you to a camp, okay? We'll explain everything there. Just know we're the good guys."

"You're kidnapping me!" the girl protested.

"We just rescued you from that monster," Katie pointed out. "What's your name?"

The girl sniffed. "Lila."

"What do you like to do for fun, Lila? Put makeup on and dress up, sing and write poetry, do metalwork, steal things…"

Travis crossed his arms. "Way to stereotype everyone, Katherine."

Lila frowned. "I don't know. I'm pretty boring, to be honest."

"You must be a daughter of Demeter, then," Travis said. Katie punched him in the arm.

Katie sighed. They were still in Florida, and she knew that Lila wouldn't be able to get to Camp all by herself. There were still eight states to go through, and a lot of demigods could be in those eight states. However, traveling with more than three people was always debatably dangerous. Someone usually died.

Travis pulled a drachma out of his pocket. There was a puddle nearby with a bit of a rainbow on it. As Katie watched, she could only hope that he would request to see someone who would actually help them.

"O Iris—" Travis started. He didn't get to finish; the image was already appearing, as if someone had requested to talk to him. "What the Hades?"

Katie and Lila stood behind him. The three of them watched as the puddle focused on a man with a black beard and bright blue electric eyes wearing a pinstripe suit. It was Zeus, lord of the skies.

"Hello, demigods," he said, his voice cold. "You have ten seconds to give me a good enough reason not to kill you right now."

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><p><strong>AN: SO BAD I'M SO SORRY I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS CHAPTER WAS.** **BY THE WAY, TRYGONI MEANS TURTLEDOVE IN GREEK. Again, I'm so sorry for this awful chapter. I just wanted to post something so the wait wasn't too long.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: There is one swear word in here! Beware! Thank you everyone for the reviews. They mean a lot. R&R and enjoy this chapter!**

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><p>CHAPTER NINE<p>

Katie assumed that since Travis had had to save himself from getting in trouble multiple times, he would easily give the lord of the skies viable reasons that they shouldn't be blasted to pieces.

She assumed wrong, naturally.

"I…I'm awesome," Travis blurted, his eyes widening as the volume of his voice increased. "Like my dad! My dad is Hermes, and he's awesome. I shouldn't die. Please, man, I have so much to live for!"

Zeus stared him, obviously not amused. Katie bit her tongue and tightened her grip on Lila's hand. She had always thought that Travis's pranks would be the death of her, but she had been wrong; Travis's idiocy would literally be the death of her.

"So much to live for?" the god scoffed. "A lie, Travis! You know who had so much to live for? My daughter, Thalia, who's eternally trapped at a day from sixteen; my…brother…Poseidon's son, Percy, who saved Olympus just weeks ago—"

"We're all heroes," Katie interrupted. Although she was angry at Travis for trying to save them with incredibly stupid reasoning, she knew what it was like to be belittled by a god. It wasn't fun, and it wasn't fair. "Thalia chose the Hunters, Lord Zeus. She could be eighteen right now if she hadn't. No one forced her to make that decision." She took a deep breath, ignoring the glare on Zeus's face. "And Percy, even though he's one of the greatest campers of all time, needed _us_. He needed Travis, too. Without all the other demigods, he wouldn't have been able to save you and the other Olympians."

For a moment, it was silent, and Katie's heart began pounding even faster than it already was. She was going to die. Travis and Lila were going to die. It would be her fault, for arguing with the king of the gods…

"You speak like your mother," Zeus commented, and Katie flinched. Somehow, that statement was harsher than being killed; she didn't want to be like her mother in any aspect of personality, the woman who had never given her motherly advice and only compared her to her favorite daughter, Persephone. The only thing Katie and Demeter had in common was a love for agriculture, and that was how Katie liked it.

Zeus gave her a curious look. "You aren't fond of your mother, are you?" he asked, and Katie shyly shook her head. "A shame, child. Your mother is wise and insightful and powerful; she would have made a great candidate for queen of the gods."

Katie was so stunned that she let go of Lila's hand, and the scared girl almost fell over. _Demeter would have made a great candidate for queen of the gods_? Even though Hera was missing, that still wasn't a safe thing to say. Travis thought so, also; he gasped and tensed his shoulders.

"W-with all due respect, Lord Zeus," Katie said uncertainly, "I don't think you should be saying that. Things are how they are. You can't change them now."

Zeus shook his head. "Change is all around us, Katie. Can't you feel it?" He studied her closer. "Has it ever occurred to you, Katie, that you could have been the child of the prophecy?"

At this, Travis's jaw dropped open. Katie sucked in a breath. She had never thought about it, but it was true; _a half-blood of the eldest gods_. Demeter was the third oldest child of Rhea, and the first female; the prophecy didn't specify which god, but everyone had assumed it was Poseidon, Hades, or Zeus. Hera and Hestia didn't have demigod children, and everyone stereotyped Demeter's children as farm-living, plant-loving nerds who couldn't fight.

"It didn't," Katie told her uncle. "But everything worked out, yeah? You can't dwell on the past too much. Percy saved the world, and now he's gone. We need to help find him. We need to find more demigods. You _can't_ kill us. Please."

Travis stepped forward next to Katie, feeling inadequate. He knew that, if and once Zeus spared them, Katie was going to reprimand him for hours about being an idiot and his lame excuses. It wasn't his fault, though! Pranking and alibis for said pranks took a lot of time and thought; it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment hobby.

Zeus sighed. "I will let you live," he agreed, although his tone suggested he wanted to do otherwise. "Find more demigods. Try to find Percy. And Hera…" He shook his head, looking slightly frightened. "I fear that is out of even my hands."

Ω

After two hours of walking in silence, Travis couldn't take it anymore.

"Why aren't you screaming at me?" he shrieked at Katie, who was walking beside Lila in front of him. They were somewhere in South Carolina, if he thought correctly. "Katherine, seriously. Are you okay? Is it really you? Don't you want to tell me that my excuses were stupid and going to get us killed?"

"I do want to tell you that," Katie replied evenly, not turning around. "But it's over and done with, Travis. You brought me hyacinth seeds, which I didn't think you were capable of getting or even knowing what—"

"What's a hyacinth seed, Katie?" Lila interrupted, looking up at the daughter of Demeter. "Uh…sorry. ADHD. I sometimes talk at inappropriate times."

Katie sympathetically smiled. "It's okay. Most demigods have ADHD or dyslexia, or both. A hyacinth flower means 'I'm really sorry.'"

Travis froze for a second before jogging to catch up to the two girls. He had given seeds to a flower that meant sorrow and regret, which was why Katie had forgiven him so easily. He had to give it to Aphrodite; that goddess really knew what she was doing.

He looked around at the road they were walking on the side of, but there were no sign of any taxis and all the cards that passed them did so without a second glance. He was too tired to think of any magical demigod ways to quickly travel somewhere.

A few minutes later, a few dozen yellow taxis appeared in his sight. He sped up to walk on Katie's left. "Look at all those taxis. We can get one."

"Whoa," Katie agreed. She looked around. "I think they're heading for the…Charleston International Airport. There's a sign there. It's just two miles from here."

"I've been there," Lila piped up. "I flew with my dad and my stepmom to DC. It was so cool."

"Dad and stepmom, huh?" Travis commented as they hailed a taxi and climbed in. "That means your godly parent is a girl. You'll either be Demeter's, Aphrodite's, or Athena's."

After seeing Lila's slightly disappointed expression, Katie shook her head. "No, Travis is still thinking of before. We have a bunch more cabins now, and there's more minor gods claiming their children. There's Hecate, Iris, Eris…"

Lila shrugged.

The taxi dropped them off at the airport, and the three demigods exited the car and entered the airport. There were more people than Travis expected. He'd only been on a plane twice in his life, but both times, the airport hadn't been crowded at all.

He led the girls over to a screen that showed the day's flights. "Where do you guys want to go?" he asked. "Virginia has a lot of schools. That's where Annabeth's from, right?"

"Yeah," Katie answered. She was about to suggest a location when very loud children's voices echoed throughout the lobby. She turned to see a distraught male teacher trying to herd a group of about twenty rowdy children all wearing matching red tee shirts. It was every teacher's worse nightmare: a class field trip.

Katie was admittedly impressed as all the students eventually handed their teacher a ticket each. Whatever school they went to had to be pretty lax; Katie's school (or her old school, since she was now a yearlong camper) had been weary of even letting seniors go to the local museum.

Lila tugged on Katie's shirt after a minute. "Katie," she whispered, fear evident in her voice. "What is _that_?"

Katie and Travis turned to where the girl was pointing. A few meters behind the group of students was a hellhound. It was one of the smallest ones Katie had ever seen, probably only five feet tall, but with its sharp teeth and fiery eyes, it had to be scary for Lila. The hellhound was sitting against a wall next to a woman on a laptop; Katie figured the mortal didn't even see the hellhound, or if she did, she saw it as a harmless poodle.

On instinct, Katie and Travis both brought out their weapons. Lila's eyes widened when she saw the dagger and sword but she wisely kept quiet. She stayed back as the two teenagers casually walked toward the hellhound.

When he was about two feet away from the hellhound, Travis raised his sword to stab the monster without any fuss, but the hellhound hopped up and howled loudly. The woman next to it looked slightly annoyed but continued to tap on her laptop. The hellhound bounded from its sitting position right toward the group of students.

Katie sprinted toward the students and stood in front of them. She waved her dagger around, trying to distract the hellhound. It snarled and leaped toward Katie's chest. She stumbled back but didn't fall; she even managed to cut a deep gash on its side.

A few of the workers glanced up from whatever they were doing. One of them called out to Katie and told her to get her dog under control. The students behind her laughed, and she wondered why she was trying to protect them; after all, they were mortal. The hellhound couldn't hurt them.

"Children, follow me. Obviously, this girl can't keep her poodle under control," the teacher sniffed, gathering up his luggage. "Come on, everyone! One, two, three! Eyes on me! Let's go!"

The students all obediently followed him, still giggling at Katie, who was now aimlessly swiping her dagger at the hellhound as it pranced and growled around her. One of the students, though, a boy of about ten years old, stayed behind. His teacher didn't notice.

"Hey, kid," Travis breathed, running over to the boy. "Your class is leaving. You have to go. We'll take care of our…ah, poodle." It seemed ironic to him to refer to the monster that was almost as tall as Katie and double her weight as a 'poodle.'

The boy shook his head and gulped. "That's…that's not a poodle, man. I've seen some weird shit in my neighborhood, but this…whoa…" He watched in awe as Katie finally stabbed the hellhound in its chest and it disintegrated to dust.

Lila ran over to them, carrying Katie and Travis's backpacks. "That was so cool, Katie," she gushed. "Wow!" She looked at the younger boy who was now with them. "Who are you?"

"Khalil," the boy answered, raising an eyebrow. "Who are you guys? Why the hell do you have swords?"

"I'm Travis, the girl who killed the hellhound is Katie, and that's Lila, who we just picked up," Travis answered, studying the boy. "Khalil, I think you're a half-blood. You should come with—"

Khalil shook his head adamantly, gripping his suitcase tightly. "No way, man," he spat, glaring at Travis. "I don't hang with any racists, you understand? Just because I'm mixed doesn't mean you can—"

"He didn't mean a half-blood as in your parents," Katie interrupted patiently. "Well, he did mean it as in your parents, but not what you think. One of your parents is a god; an Olympian. Zeus, Poseidon, Hera…they're all real."

Khalil blinked after a minute. "Oh." He turned to Travis. "Sorry, man."

"It's fine," Travis answered. He was a little shocked at how well Lila and Khalil were taking this. When a satyr had come to get him and Connor, they'd trapped the poor guy in their house for hours and dyed his fur pink; it had taken their mom and the satyr four hours to convince the brothers the gods were real.

Katie suggested they fly to Virginia. The four of them waited until the flight was called and boarded the plane.

Katie was nervous and excited at the same time. She'd never flown before, and her mother and Zeus got along fairly well, so there was no reason she should have been afraid of flying. However, her dad had been in the Air Force and died, so she was a bit skeptical.

She didn't tell Travis about her thoughts, though. It was just make everything more complicated. She wasn't entirely comfortable spilling her secrets to him, for one, and they would have had to find a different way of traveling.

As soon as she sat in her seat, she buckled herself as tightly as the leather strap would allow. She gripped the armrests and didn't move an inch for Travis, who had to climb over her in order to get the window seat he had claimed.

"Where's Lila and Khalil?" Katie asked him, keeping her head straight. All of her muscles were tensed.

"The row right in front of us," Travis answered. "Katie, are you okay? We're going to be fine. Nothing's going to happen." As he said this, the plane roared and took off. Katie's ears popped, but other than that, everything was fine. She slightly relaxed. "See? No problem!"

Katie's comfort was short-lived. Less than two minutes later, the plane jolted to the left, and Katie watched in horror as the part of the airplane's left wing ripped off and flew into the oblivion.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry it was a little shorter than usual! I had a snow day today so I wanted to get something up. The next chapter probably won't be until the weekend or early next week.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I really like this chapter! It's also one of my longest ones; over 5,600 words! Please read and review, because I always read them. Enjoy.**

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><p>CHAPTER TEN<p>

As terrible as it sounded and as much as she hated it, Katie didn't want to be anything like her parents. Her dad, although he had bravely died in the US Forces, ha never been too nice to his family; Demeter leaving in a whiff of dandelions had left a hollow whole in him. He had driven a Ram 2500, one of the worst trucks possible for the environment. He had disregarded Katie's honor roll-worthy schoolwork when he had been home, so when she was ten years old and found a new, real home in Camp Half-Blood, she disregarded him.

That didn't mean she didn't love him. He was a distracted, hardened man; although he wasn't a ten-year-old girl's ideal role model, Katie knew he had loved her. She couldn't say the same for Demeter.

The goddess of agriculture was a tiger mom; the first time Katie had met her when she was eleven, Demeter had told her that her braids were too messy and that it was a disgrace that Katie ate Frosted Flakes; Special K was the way to go. That was nothing, though, compared to Demeter's conversations with Katie about Persephone. The goddess could go on for hours about her daughter residing in the Underworld; she knew Persephone better than Persephone knew herself. Demeter didn't even know Katie had arrived at Camp Half-Blood for six months; that was part of the reason Travis and Connor aggravated her so much. She'd been stuck in the Hermes cabin for no reason (other than the fact that Demeter was careless) for eight months with the idiots.

Still, Katie didn't want to be anything like her parents. Besides loving plants and agriculture, she didn't want to live like her parents, and she sure as Hades didn't want to die like one of them.

"Calm down, Katie, it'll be fine," Travis muttered, although it wasn't convincing. He gripped her shoulder comfortingly and poked her oxygen mask, which was tightly secured on her face.

"Don't do that, Travis!" Katie shrieked, making one of the frantic flight attendants shush her. She lowered her voice. "Seriously. This is my only oxygen mask."

"You could have mine if you lost yours," Travis told her. She rolled her eyes, not knowing that he was completely serious.

"Passengers, we are descending into the Atlantic Ocean. Again, we are descending into the Atlantic Ocean. Please make sure you have your flotation devices and are holding them securely," a man's voice came over the intercom. "We are terribly sorry about the wing's malfunction. If you believe in a God, folks, now would be the time to start praying."

Katie's breath began to quicken. She could feel the plane falling; although it felt like everything was in slow motion, the speed at which the ground passed told Katie that they were falling very, very fast. Without thinking, she gripped Travis's hand with her own. Lila and Khalil, who were both standing in front of the two older demigods, looked like they were about to cry.

Katie began to tell them that it was going to be okay. She had to be strong for these two; it also wasn't fair that she and Travis had just taken them and ultimately led them to this plane crash.

"I don't know who did this," Travis whispered into Katie's ear. "The plane malfunctioning could be Hephaestus, or the general domain could be Zeus, or the travel aspect could be my dad. I thought they were all on our side." His voice was slightly shaky, which didn't make Katie feel better. If the son of the god of travelers was worried while on a plane, something bad was bound to occur.

Katie shrugged. She glanced out the long window on the emergency exit door she was standing in front of. She could faintly see the ocean below.

All around them, other passengers were crying and frantically trying to call people on their cell phones. The flight attendants were scurrying around, fixing everyone's masks and flotation devices, and repetitively instructing everyone on how to jump out of a plane. With all the commotion, Katie figured it was safe to make an Iris message, the only type of communication with the outside world that would work on the plane.

Someone's cell phone was reflecting on the wall right next to the emergency exit door. Katie reached into her backpack (she could wear it since the plane didn't have available parachutes, which she thought was ridiculous) and pulled out her last drachma.

"Chiron at Camp Half-Blood," she whispered.

Fortunately, Lila and Khalil were standing right in front of the emergency exit door since they were the two youngest on the airplane, and Katie and Travis stood behind them, so no one else would be able to see the image of a centaur playing poker with a saddened expression on his face.

"Thank gods," Travis muttered. A little louder, he hissed, "Chiron!"

The centaur's head popped up and focused on them. In just a second, he had gathered what was happening, based on the screams in the background and the fast shakiness of the image. He set down his set of cards and leaned forward.

"Do something, please," Katie begged. Tears welled in her eyes. She cursed herself; she hadn't wanted to look weak or scare Lila and Khalil even more. "I can't…Chiron, you know my dad…"

"Yes. Yes," Chiron said quickly, nodding. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. "The gods have suddenly gone on lockdown, for some troubling reason, but I can get you some help. You just have to make sure you survive the impact, Katie. Travis, help her. And…" His eyes focused on Lila and Khalil, and he gravely smiled. "I wish I could say hello under better circumstances, young ones. Follow Travis and Katie. You'll be at Camp Half-Blood in no time. I must go; your help is on the way." He waved his hand, and the image disappeared.

Forgetting about the fact that they were about to crash, Lila's eyes were wide. "Oh my gosh, was that a _centaur_?"

"_The_ centaur, yep," Travis answered. He adjusted the younger girl's hands on her flotation device.

Khalil scowled. "You can't get another name for this camp? Why not Camp Demigod or something?"

"People don't discriminate you on your race, Khalil. Don't worry," Katie assured him. She really wanted to freak out, but she had to make sure that he and Lila were okay. If they weren't, their will to live through this crash wouldn't be as great. "You'll get judged on your godly parent, sure, but you'll have a ton of new siblings to share that burden with."

Khalil was about to respond when the pilot's voice came over the intercom again.

"Passengers, the emergency exit doors are now opening. We are approximately eight hundred and twenty feet in the air. When the doors fully open, your flight attendants will address you on how—"

The second the doors opened, Katie and Travis simultaneously locked eyes. After working together for six years (although Katie didn't like the time being that long), they knew what the other was thinking. Travis grabbed Lila by the shoulders and lunged behind her, and they went tumbling into the sky.

Taking a deep breath and wiping away a tear, Katie locked her arms around Khalil's torso and pushed off, using all the strength in her calves to get them as far away from the plane as possible.

Immediately, the cool air whipped around them. Katie's hairtie flew off, and her hair waved all around her face, free from its braid. She almost forgot to breathe. She locked her hands around Khalil's stomach. He yelled something to her, but she couldn't hear him over the wind. She could barely hear herself think. _Am I really falling right now? What is going on? Am I going to die? We're getting closer…_

"Let go of me!" Khalil screamed. "We're about to hit!"

Katie's muscles were jelly. She tried as rapidly as she could do let go of Khalil while still clinging to her flotation device; it took her about fifteen seconds. By then, all she could do was hold her breath and fold her limbs into cannonball position as she submerged under the water. The landing hurt more than the fall, and a second later, she was coughing up water and lying on the floating cushion.

She couldn't form any thoughts in her mind. The waves lapped up around her, dousing her collarbone and neck every few seconds. Her heart was beating quickly, and she took deep breaths to try and calm herself, but it was to no avail; her arms were shaking violently, whether from the cold water or just the mentality that she had jumped out of a plane, and her breathing began to quicken.

"Katie!"

Katie looked around frantically. Khalil had landed somewhere in the water near her, but she couldn't see him at the moment. She treaded the water and maneuvered herself to face toward whoever was calling her.

It was Travis. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. She was pale and her brown eyes looked dazed and unfocused. His moment of relief disappeared, and he motioned for Lila to follow him. The two swam over to the daughter of Demeter, who had closed her eyes and was muttering to herself.

"Katie, are you okay?" Travis asked softly, genuine concern in his voice. He could have sworn that last year Katie had told him she'd never been on an airplane before, so it wasn't possible for her to have any traumatic experiences on one, right?

Wrong.

As he got close enough to touch her, he noticed how shaky and pale her hands were. He couldn't tell if the water on her face was from the ocean water or tears. Her wavy hair fell around her hunched shoulders. Travis thought she looked cute.

Wait.

_Wait_.

Katie Gardner was not cute, especially—

"My dad died on a plane," Katie said, staring blankly into the distance. "He was on his way home from his third tour. The plane crashed and he died. I don't want to be like him." Her voice was hollow and not at all like her usual energetic, lively tone.

Lila's small mouth opened in surprise. She looked like she wanted to swim a little closer to Katie and give her a hug, but Travis shook his head. "Go find Khalil," he told the twelve-year-old. "I just saw him a minute ago."

After Lila swam off with her flotation device, he turned to Katie. She'd gotten her tan complexion back, and her breathing had slowed to a somewhat normal pace. She gave a shaky smile to Travis, and he was surprised to see that her lips still looked as soft as the day they had kissed. He, personally, needed a good amount of Chapstick.

"You good?" he asked, then cursed himself. Obviously she was not 'good.'

Katie rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I will be," she answered, clearing her throat. She swung her backpack onto her flotation device and grabbed an extra hairtie from the front pocket. She tied her wet hair into a high bun and looked around. "Where's Khalil? I let go of him right before we landed."

"Lila went to go get him," Travis answered, still concerned about her. She was obviously trying to change the subject. "So, any idea what Chiron's going to send our way? I'm hoping he actually knows where Percy is, and any minute he'll just show up and bring us home."

"Home," Katie chuckled. "Yeah. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"

Travis looked at her, confused. "Why are you laughing?"

Katie shrugged. It was hard to explain. Both of them were almost seventeen and should have been in their junior year of high school; except Katie had just become a yearlong camper and Travis hadn't been to mortal school since he was ten. Katie knew they couldn't say at Camp Half-Blood the rest of their lives. Now, instead of waking up and rejoicing that she had another day at the best place in the world, she woke up and remembered that it was another day closer to when she would have to leave her favorite home.

She couldn't explain that to Travis. He probably didn't think about college and real life like Katie did. She wouldn't be surprised if he ended up living at Camp Half-Blood the rest of his life.

"I don't know," Katie sighed. "I need to sleep. I'm…" She shook her head. "My head is pounding. It sounds like a giant motor."

"I think there _is_ a giant motor," Travis replied, pointing. "Look." Katie followed his finger. There was a sleek, small black boat heading toward them. This was their help from Chiron.

"Lila! Khalil! Come on!" Travis shouted. Many of the other passengers had noticed the boat, too, so it obviously wasn't hidden by the Mist. That would be a problem; how would they explain that only them four were allowed to board?

The two younger demigods paddled over to Katie and Travis. Their hair was matted in wet clumps, and both of their faces were grave and exhausted. Travis felt a pang of guilt shoot through him; he was supposed to be the protective leader, yet two of them under the age of twelve had just gotten on a plane against their will and crashed and the other co-leader was having a panic attack, PTSD, or both. Connor would have shamed him.

The boat slowed to a stop and bobbed up and down on the waves in front of them. Katie admired the boat for a minute before swimming over to the ladder. She left her flotation device in the water and mustered up the energy to ascend.

Lila, then Khalil, and then Travis followed. Katie collapsed on the deck as soon as her feet hit it. The smooth, cool wood wasn't the ideal bed, but it would do. She was tired of everything; this quest, the crash, Travis (although he was getting better…sometimes), and the looming feeling that things were far from over.

Katie felt the boat move, but unlike the airplane, it didn't unsettle her. She felt footsteps near her and heard faint voices, and someone may have carried her, but she wasn't sure. All she knew was that she needed a nap before they could continue this quest that hadn't even intended to be a real quest in the beginning.

Ω

Travis had only wanted to kill two people in his entire life; his half-brother, Luke, when it was revealed that he was the one working for Kronos, and Marcus, his mother's ex-husband who had more bottles of beer a day than brain cells in his head.

Now, though, he had to bump that list up to three people. Nico di Angelo was the lucky winner for the third position, and the thirteen-year-old looked like he knew it, too.

"Travis, before you kill me, it's not my fault!" Nico quickly breathed, holding up his hands. "I _had_ to leave you guys. I swear on the River Styx!"

"We could have avoided a freaking plane crash," Travis growled, clenching his fists. "Nico, there was a _huge_ possibility we could've _died_."

"Not really," the son of death countered. "Seven hundred and forty-nine people died last year in plane crashes. That's only 0.011 percent of the world's population, which—"

"Gods, Nico, that's not the point!" Travis exclaimed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. Katie had passed out right when they got on the boat, and he was worried about her. "Why did Chiron think you could help us, anyway?"

Nico glared at the older demigod. "I can help," he insisted angrily. "I can do way more than you and Katie combined! I'm the ghost king! I _know_ all and _see_ all." He crossed his arms powerfully, and Travis cautiously took a step back. "Do you know what happened to Hera, Travis?"

Travis sucked in a breath. "Y-you know what took her?"

"Not what," Nico said, shaking his head. "_Who_."

The two boys jumped up as Katie rose from her nap on one of the extra bedroom's beds. Travis had said that she would be fine on the floor (she had once spent six months on the floor of the Hermes cabin; she could survive six minutes on the clean tile of Nico's boat) but then Nico stated that it was no wonder Katie hated Travis, so the son of Hermes had grudgingly picked her up and placed her on the bed.

Katie's eyes opened and she groggily stared at the other two people in the room. Her brown hair had mostly dried and fell around her face in loose waves. Her skin looked much better with her normal complexion, clear and lively. Travis thought she looked beautiful.

_Gods_, what was going on with him? He'd never used words like 'beautiful' except when he was talking about cars.

"Nico? Why are you here?" Katie asked, climbing out of the bed. She stretched her arms. "Gods, how long was I out for?"

"Chiron asked me to help you," Nico answered, looking down at his shoes. "I've gotten so much insight on things now, you guys. It's unbelievable. I can't tell you guys everything, but—"

In less than a second, Travis had his sword pressed up against Nico's skinny throat, and Nico was pressed up against the bedroom wall. The younger boy grunted and attempted to push Travis off of him, but Travis was physically much stronger and dug his knee into Nico's thigh. He was sick and tired of hearing Nico's alibis that were even more pathetic than the ones he had given Zeus; if Nico had really learned so much, why couldn't he just _tell_ someone?

Katie ran over and grabbed Travis's shoulders, trying to shake him off. "Travis, what the _Hades_ is wrong with you? Get off him! Travis, you idiot, _move_!"

Travis ignored her and instead glared into Nico's eyes. Nico gulped, but stared right back at Travis. "I'll move when Death Boy tells us what's going on. None of this 'I can't tell you' crap. Tell us—" He pressed his sword closer to Nico's throat. "Or you won't even be able to talk again."

"Travis, you are insane," Katie growled, pulling out her dagger.

She pressed it against Travis's sword, giving Nico a few seconds to duck down and get out of Travis's hold. Nico rolled on the ground and reached for his Stygian iron sword as Travis whirled around quickly to follow him. Unfortunately, Katie was standing right there, and Travis's sword swung directly into her left bicep. The speed and force were enough to inflict pain and start a bruise, and the sharp edge of the sword was enough to draw blood.

Katie staggered against the wall, clenching her teeth and gripping her arm. She was so _done_ with Travis. She would have started screaming at him and would've preferred to throw him off the boat, but she was in too much pain.

Nico's eyes widened. He quickly lunged at Travis to disarm him, but the son of Hermes had already dropped his sword and was trying to apologize to and comfort Katie. His efforts were fruitless.

"For Olympus's sake, Travis, just stop," Katie groaned, moving away from him. She sat on the bed and looked at her hand that had covered her gash; it was blistered from holding her dagger so tightly and covered in blood from the gash. "Go get me some gauze and some medicine."

"Katie, I'm really, really sorry—"

"Now, Travis!"

Nico hesitantly sat beside her as Travis shamefully exited the bedroom. He studied her cut. "It's not deep enough to need stitches," he noted, raising an eyebrow. "It's long, but not deep. It's not too bad."

"I know," Katie replied, smirking. "I just wanted Travis to feel bad." She shrugged her shoulders and winced. "It still hurts like Hades, though. And I'm still sore from landing in the water."

Nico nodded. He still couldn't believe that they had found two more demigods, gotten in a plane crash, and found him. All three were fairly impossible feats. He desperately wished he could tell them that he had found Percy at Camp Jupiter and that Hera (or, Juno) was being held captive by Gaia, but he wasn't one to mess with the Fates. Katie and Travis and everyone else would find out when the time was right, whenever that was.

"My dad died in the Air Force. I was so scared I would end up like him," Katie said suddenly, staring at her feet. "I thought the plane was going to kill me. And if that didn't, then the water definitely would—either the impact of the fall or the cold temperature. I just…" She shook her head. "Wouldn't it have been great if Percy was there with us and not missing?"

_He's not missing!_ Nico wanted to scream. _He wouldn't have been able to help you. He can't remember anything!_

Instead, he dumbly nodded. "Yeah."

Travis entered the bedroom a moment later. He handed Katie the gauze and some medicinal cream for her cut while stammering, "Katie, I really, like, really didn't even realize my sword would hit you. I'm so, so sorry, you know…I really am."

Katie rolled her eyes, and Nico admired at how well she acted. "Whatever, Travis. What are Lila and Khalil doing?"

"Sleeping," Travis answered, then frowned. "I think Khalil is having his very first demigod dream. He kept muttering something about the earth and it looked like he was in pain."

Katie leaned forward and spoke slowly, as if she were talking to a three-year-old. "And…you…didn't…wake…him?" Her voice was dangerously calm, but her brown eyes were raging. Travis was used to this expression, so he slightly relaxed.

Nico answered for him. "No, it's a good thing he didn't wake him. There could be useful information in that dream. Gaia—" His dark eyes widened, and Katie watched in shock as the son of Hades crumpled into a ball against the wall, grabbing his hair. "Oh, gods, I am such an idiot…she's going to kill me…he's going to hate me…"

Katie forgot about her hatred for Travis for a minute and gave him a worried look; he mirrored her expression. They both cautiously bent toward the younger boy, who looked on the verge of tears and hyperventilation.

"Gaia's going to kill you?" Travis asked, racking his brain. "She's the gods', like, grandma, right?"

Nico nodded, slowing his breath down. He looked up at Travis and Katie miserably. "But you don't understand. She's way more powerful than that; all the Titans are her children. She literally can control the world. People are joining her, which is why everything's so chaotic. And Hera has a plan to defeat her, but…"

"But you can't tell us," Travis interrupted sarcastically, throwing up his arms. "This is just great."

"Shut up, Travis," Katie said, rolling her eyes. "He just told us more than we know. Nico, do you have any drachmas so we can Iris-message Camp?"

"I told Chiron already, and I'm guessing he told Annabeth," Nico answered. "Other than that, no one can know. You guys have to keep your lips sealed. Swear on the Rivew Styx!"

Katie and Travis swore.

"So Hera's fine?" Travis asked a moment later. "The gods want to kill us for no reason?"

"She's not exactly fine, but she's completely in control of herself," Nico answered. "She'll be okay."

A voice on an overhead speaker suddenly called Nico, and he excused himself. Katie and Travis were left alone in the room, and she was reminded of her hatred for him. Honestly, would it kill him to be a little more careful? He had been taught his sword fighting skills from Luke Castellan, one of the greatest swordfighters Camp Half-Blood had ever seen, and he was friends with Percy Jackson, who was almost as good as Luke. One would think he could avoid cutting a gash into someone's arm.

Katie thought about her siblings briefly and hoped that whatever skills she had taught them, they used them well. Her heart felt heavy at remembering them; she hoped they weren't having too hard of a time at mortal school and that there were plenty of plants for them to work with.

She glanced at Travis, who was standing uncomfortably against the wall. Katie adjusted herself on the bed so she sat on the very end of it and motioned for Travis to sit; after all, he had gotten in the plane crash too and was probably even more tired than she.

Travis looked shocked at the invitation. "I—I can…never mind. Thanks." He sat on the other end of the roomy king-size bed and leaned his head on one of the fluffy pillows. "I'm really sorry about your arm, Katie. I was just really angry at Nico."

"You should probably see an anger management counselor," Katie replied dryly, and Travis smirked slightly. They were back to normal.

"I wonder what's going on at Camp right now," Travis mused, closing his eyes. "I bet Clarisse is terrifying everyone. She was so mad when I told her Silena didn't make it to Elysium."

"I would be mad, too, if one of my friends was stuck in Asphodel," Katie agreed, exhaling hard.

"What if I went to Asphodel?" Travis asked. "Would you be mad?"

Katie froze. Travis's eyes were closed so he didn't notice her. Would she be upset if Travis went to Asphodel? Yes. There was no denying it; as much as he irritated her, Travis Stoll had become a part of her life. He deserved Elysium.

"Yeah," she finally said. "I would if anyone at Camp did, really."

They sat in silence for a little while longer. Travis asked Katie multiple questions that seemed more appropriate for a sixth grade game of Truth or Dare rather than a ship that had just rescued them from a plane crash, but she didn't feel like answering, so she didn't.

Through the wall, they could hear Khalil snoring as he slept, and Lila humming as she read a book Nico had given her. It made Travis wonder who the two's godly parents were; with all the new cabins for all the minor gods, there were so many different possibilities.

"Who do you think Lila and Khalil's parents are?" he asked Katie, opening his eyes.

The daughter of Demeter shrugged. "I think Lila's mom is one of the minor goddesses. Nico said her aura isn't that strong. Khalil, though…we don't know if it's his mom or dad. If I had to guess, I would say Ares."

"I would say Apollo," Travis replied, and if he hadn't known Katie for so long, he would have missed the slightly pained expression she suddenly bore. "What's wrong with Apollo?"

"Nothing," Katie answered quickly. "I just…he doesn't seem like any of Apollo's kids, you know?"

Travis shrugged, laughing. What did Katie know about Apollo's kids? Besides (most of) Aphrodite's children, Demeter's children were some of the most antisocial people at Camp. They stuck to their own and only interacted with the other cabins at meetings or during Capture the Flag games; they went to Mythology class and sword fighting class alone without another cabin. There was no way Katie knew any of the Apollo kids well enough to make a judgment; they were all narcissistic and poetic. They would drive her crazy.

Katie scrunched her eyebrows together and demanded to know why he was laughing. Did he think she didn't have any friends besides her siblings?

"Nothing, it's just…you're not close to Cabin Seven, are you?" Travis asked, smirking. "All your cabin does is sit in the fields all day. You don't know if Khalil is a kid of Apollo or not. What if he is?"

"I don't sit around in the fields all day," Katie argued harshly, sitting up straight. "I do _way_ more work at Camp in a day than you do in an entire week! Gods, why are you so mean?"

Travis sat up as well and held up his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying. What kid of Apollo are you close to?"

"_Was_," Katie said quietly, not meeting his eyes. "I _was_ close to Lee Fletcher. He and I were dating when he died." She took a shaky breath and looked uncharacteristically defeated for a moment before her usual fire returned to her eyes and glared at Travis. "So you should shut the Hades up before you speak sometimes and freaking _think_."

Travis's jaw hung open. This was the most shocking news he had heard in a long time, even more shocking than the fact that Percy Jackson was missing. Lee Fletcher and Katie Gardner had _dated_? He couldn't imagine Katie dating anyone; and if he had to, he definitely wouldn't imagine Lee Fletcher, who had been popular and arrogant and oddly muscular for a kid of Apollo. He wasn't Katie's type.

Obviously, he didn't know what Katie's type was.

"Sorry," he said lamely, still not believing what he had heard. "I…did anyone even know you two were dating? Did you guys, like, keep it a secret since all the girls were after him—"

"What? No!" And if Katie hadn't been mad before, now she was _furious_. Her breathing was becoming ragged and her fists were clenched tightly. "It wasn't a secret. Maybe if you paid attention to something other than your stupid pranks, you would have known!"

Katie jumped off the bed and angrily stomped toward the door to exit the room. She wouldn't have been so upset if Lee hadn't died in the Battle of the Labyrinth, but he had; she absolutely hated when people overlooked death. She recalled that it had physically hurt her when Lee had been killed, or maybe that was the broken arm she got from a giant when she was too shocked to move.

Travis hopped up and blocked Katie from opening the door. Katie almost felt bad when she saw the true look of sorrow in his eyes, and she couldn't help but remember the hyacinth seeds he had given her, but he had crossed the line that he'd been dancing around for the past six years.

"Move, Travis," she spat, her voice breaking. Gods, she did not want to cry in front of the jerk. "Move out of my way right now. You owe me."

And suddenly, they're kissing.

Travis's strong arms are wrapped around her slender waist, and her mind is too shocked to do anything other than make her own arms tangle through his hair. Travis had been looking for Chapstick at the airport earlier, and Katie briefly wondered why; his lips were soft and smooth against hers, and she hated to admit it, but it was the best kiss she ever had.

She'd watched, just a few weeks before, when Annabeth and Percy were dumped in the lake. Annabeth had said they'd kissed underwater and Percy said it was the best kiss ever; but kissing Travis Stoll in a room on the son of Hades's ship, Katie thought that Percy and Annabeth had nothing on them.

Ω

Nico ran a hand through his hair. Sometimes he really hated having undead people try and man a ship; they always claimed the technology was too new and he ended up doing everything himself, basing what to do on memories of watching Percy.

The son of Hades opened the door t the room where Katie and Travis were to tell them that one of the chefs (a guy who had once been the chef of Olympus but had gotten killed when he fed Ares some carrots, which he was allergic to) had prepared dinner for them. He was stunned when he saw Travis and Katie, sworn arch enemies, holding each other lovingly and passionately liplocked.

Slowly, he closed the door and ran out to the boat's deck. He jumped up, whooping, praising Zeus that he had just paid off one half of his debt to Aphrodite. Now all he had to do was admit his feelings for Percy; he figured that since Percy didn't have his memories, whenever he found him at the Roman Camp that Hera had told him about, he could just tell Percy he liked him then.

A turtle dove suddenly flew by, looking at Nico too curiously to be a regular fowl. Nico grinned, something he didn't do very often, and spoke to the bird. "Tell your goddess that I know where Percy Jackson is," he said, "and that her favorite couple since Percy and Annabeth is getting together."

The turtle dove flew off quickly, and Nico sighed contentedly. Even though the Great Prophecy was approaching, gods wanted him dead, and the guy he liked was missing and causing an uproar, things at the moment weren't so bad.

That was until one of his undead workers peeked his head out onto the deck. "Mr. di Angelo? There's…someone here. I suggest you come now."

"What?" Nico asked, thoroughly confused. The boat was magic, and no one could enter if he didn't give them permission. He gripped hi sword in his hand. "Who's here?"

The undead worker had already scrambled off, however, and Nico ran inside. He stopped short when he saw Travis and Katie sitting on the couch with Khalil on Katie's other side. The girl, Lila, was nowhere to be seen. In her place was Artemis, the goddess who had taken Nico's sister from him, and Thalia was standing beside her, wearing her silver parka.

Travis was shaking his head to Artemis. "I still can't believe it," he mused. "My dad is the god of liars, and you went disguised with us for two days!"

"I was not lying, boy, simply hiding," Artemis answered primly. She regarded Nico heavily and looked to her lieutenant, waiting for her to speak.

"Hey, 'cous," Thalia greeted, but her electric blue eyes didn't quite match her smile. "Sit down, okay? You have a lot of explaining to do."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: How was that? Leave reviews! I'd also like to give a huge thank you to Toujours L'Espoir, who has commented on almost every chapter and is super supportive and uplifting!**


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